Into the Cold Fire
by Shamera
Summary: After a final fight with Voldemort, Harry is sent to another world... a world where he died ten years ago, Voldemort is still at large, and his parents are alive. But the differences aren't stopping at that. H/D *Complete with Epilogue!
1. Where the story is underway

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

Warnings: Angst and angst. This is NOT going to be a happy, feel good story. I _might_ end this with a happy ending, but I doubt it unless people actually convice me. And even though I'll use it as an alternate ending. LOL. A little bit of Draco+Harry/Harry+Draco but it won't come up until later.

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
_Fire. _

There were voices screaming in the distance, in the back of his mind. Perhaps they were actually close to him, perhaps the screaming had been right next to him. But he didn't hear- because he couldn't hear it clearly. So much fire and smoke and screaming and blood. Always the fire and the blood- he could feel it. The heat in the air threatening to choke him, the thick congealing substance that covered him entirely and smelled even stronger through the flames. 

He could barely see a foot before his face, partially because he had lost his glasses some time ago and mainly because of all the smoke in the air, the fumes making it so hard to breathe. The night sky was filled with the light of the flames, with the heat of the hell that had occurred that night. The thick smell of coppery blood was mixed with the smell of burnt flesh. 

Yet with all the screaming, all the pain filled moans and cries of the desperate, he could hear the laughter. Laughter that had haunted his nightmares for years already, laughter that signified the end of one era and the beginning of another. It was so hot already… it felt like the flames were crawling up his flesh and leaving nothing but scorched bone. 

The laughter was the flames. The fire was laughing at him, at all the pain in his heart, and all the pain it had inflicted on others. He had to put out the fire. He didn't know how. He didn't know how he knew that _he_ had to put out the fire, and he didn't know how to actually put out the fire. 

"Do you give up so easily?" The fire mocked him, the voice deep and scratchy. "The great Harry Potter… not much without your friends, are you? Did seeing them die break you? Did hearing them plead for their lives _excite_ you?" 

The flames were creeping up his body ever so slowly, filling him with the heat that made it so hard to breathe. The fires caressed his skin, making it burn and blister before moving on. 

The screaming. He recognized the voices, knew their names. And with that knowledge came the worst pain of all. It wasn't the physical pain of being slowly burned to death- although many would argue that it was the worst way to die. It was the pain in his heart. A sudden squeezing that brought the tears that had been so long denied to him. A sharp pain that made him gasp and choke when the flames and smoke could not. 

"Yesss…" the voice hissed its approval. "Die knowing that it was _you_ who did this to them. It was you whom they came for… and it is because of you that they are dying… dying before your eyes. And you don't raise a single finger to help them." 

The voice was right. The flames were holding those people whom he could suddenly see captive, circling them like a shark would. _His friends._ Ron and Hermione, who were shouting at him at that moment, trying to break him out of the trance before the flames killed him. Draco, who was trying his best to dispel the fire, and Seamus and Neville who were making sure none of the flames came in contact with the small group. 

He could see another group further in the distance, with Ginny leading various Hufflepuffs and Slytherins through the fire and screaming at them to hold on. So many distraught faces… so much pain and suffering. 

It was Voldemort, he knew. Voldemort had poured his magic into this fire, this enchanted fire that would burn and burn until nothing was left. And the fire was burning him right now, stealing his strength and his life. 

This was it. This was the end of everything… 

_Put out the flames._

There was so little left. He could see the forbidden forest in the distance, burning. Could hear screams from the trees that had lived so long dying. Even if there was a small, remote chance of being saved, nothing would be the way it was before. Hogwarts was destroyed. Rather clever of Voldemort, since he had feared facing the Headmaster. What to do other than use the forces of nature to destroy everything? 

_Put out the fire, Harry._

They wanted him to… but he didn't know how. He wasn't old enough to know how… still in sixth year, not even graduated yet. The best wizards the Ministry had to offer had not hindered the flames. Those who studied elements all their lives could find no way to stop this fire. How could _he_? A name, fame, and accident didn't allow him such great abilities. It was his mother who really defeated Voldemort, and it was always other people that got him through. Never himself. There was nothing special about himself. 

So why was Voldemort so intent on killing him? Because of what happened so long ago? 

The heat was getting to him. He could barely feel the stinging of smoldering debris in his eyes anymore. The pain of his own burning flesh was fading, and the screams that tore at his heart were all but stopping. 

_How do you fight fire?_

With water, of course! Great amounts of water, everyone knew that. 

_But what if water doesn't work?_

In oil fires one had to put out the flames with rags, or dirt. Baking powder was used for domestic situations in the kitchen if something caught on fire. A candle could be put out with a stopper because the oxygen needed to support a fire would die. If it were a forest fire, the fire in itself would be controlled with more fire. 

_Put out the fire, Harry. _

Fire… 

The screaming stopped. Everything stopped, and the absence left Harry cold and unnerved. 

  
  


"He found him laying in the snow, Headmaster. We don't know what to make of him… or if we should tell the others about him… he looks so much like James' son…" 

Harry didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to acknowledge that he had survived. It was too cold without all the flames surrounding him. He didn't want more fame… didn't want the others to realize who he was. If they weren't sure about it, he didn't want to confirm it for them. 

In fact, he didn't want to wake up at all. How did he survive? Why was he still here? 

"Shush… I think the boy can answer for himself." 

He felt cool hands on his forehead, brushing back his bands fondly. He frowned, remembering the last time someone had done that for him. It was before everything started getting so serious, before all the pain and all the death. It had been the last time he was sick, when he had caught the flu a few days into Christmas vacation. He had stayed at Hogwarts, of course. Sirius had been there as well, and had taken care of him when he had been sick, saying that Madam Pomfrey had been away for the day. 

"Come, child, we have much questions to ask of you." 

Harry's frown grew deeper at the familiar voice he had not heard for a while, and tried to open his eyes. It was hard… much harder than it used to be, even when he had not gotten enough sleep. It felt like his eyelids were rebelling against him, refusing to let him see again. 

But after a few moments, he won out and wearily opened his eyes, squinting in the bright light and blurry images. It really was too bad that his glasses had been utterly destroyed. He would have liked to be able to see more than blurry figures. 

There was a sudden intake of breath from one of the people who were above him. 

"He really does look like James and Lily's child." 

Well, yeah. It just might be because he _was_ James and Lily's child. But then again, he wasn't going to question anything at the moment. He was too tired to. He could still feel the aches and burns on him, although it was much dimmer now, as if he were soaked in numbing potions. It was quite a strange feeling, not altogether unpleasant. 

"How do you feel, child?" 

Harry strained to look to the one who was talking to him, the visage reminding him quite greatly of Professor Dumbledore. Sounded like his headmaster as well. It nearly brought Harry to tears thinking about that. Hogwarts had been destroyed, though. 

His parted his lips, intent on replying this man who sounded so much like his Headmaster, only to have his voice come out in a croak. His tongue felt thick and grainy, as if it had swollen after he hadn't had anything to drink for the past few days. 

The others must have noticed for there was a straw put to his lips and blessed water forced down his throat. But as he tried to get more, it was taken away with a sweet touch to his forehead. 

"He should not be bothered right now, Headmaster. I think that we should leave… perhaps contact James and Lily before anything else." 

There was silence for a few moments, before Harry heard a tired sigh. "Ah. You are right as always, Poppy. He does not seem well enough to answer the questions that we have for him. Especially when it looks like he had just been in a near death situation. We will come back when you deem him well enough." 

Harry squinted to the best of his ability, wanting to know if he were dreaming. It looked like he was back at Hogwarts… in the infirmary, no less. And it sounded like Professor Dumbledore earlier… along with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall as well. 

But… that couldn't be right. 

He mused over that thought until he fell into a deep blackness. 

  
Lily Potter would never in the world have suspected what Albus had wanted her to see. She had figured that perhaps Sirius or Remus had gotten hurt and were at Hogwarts, but a quick check with James had dispelled that possibility. So then she figured it was something to do with the Order, and with the progress to stopping Voldemort. 

But never would she have suspected… that he wanted her to see this child. 

This child that looked so much like James it was astonishing. 

She sat down on the chair offered to her earlier, unable to form words as of yet. It was impossible for it to be Harry… their son had died so long ago… killed by Voldemort. It was the reason her and James fought so hard against the Dark Lord, and were willing to risk their very lives to defeat him. 

But it was impossible, wasn't it? Impossible for such an unreal dream to be able to come true. She had so longed to only have another minute with her precious son… wanted so much to see how he would have grown up. 

And this boy… liked exactly that she had imagined. 

"We don't know what happened to him… who he is. He was found in the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid… half burned to death for some reason. The poor boy nearly didn't make it. If it weren't for Poppy's skills, and Severus having burn potions just in hand, he would not have survived." 

"Is he… is he someone sent by the Dark Lord, then?" 

Lily could hear the trepidation in her husband's voice. James was as unnerved as she was about this. Someone who looked so much like Harry appearing? 

She could also hear Albus sigh. "He has been checked thoroughly. No sign of the Dark Mark, no sign of dark magic at all. No tracing devices, although I hardly think one needs to trace where he would end up in if he were taken to Hogwarts, and no sign of any strange activity near him while we have watched. In fact, the only strange thing that alerted Hagrid to his arrival would be a small fire that had appeared in the forest." 

"But who can it be? How could this happen? You-know-who would have done something… said something if he were going to plant a spy. Severus would have known of it." 

Lily finally forced her eyes to look away from the boy who would be her son. "It could be anything, James. Maybe just a diversion so that we would be too shocked to notice something else." She pursed her lips. It was such an awful thing to do, though. 

"Lily is right, James." Albus said quietly when James didn't respond. "This is most likely a distraction sent to us. But… I cannot deny the fact that Severus has heard nothing of this, and no one else had any idea either. Perhaps we will be able to get answers when the boy wakes up properly." 

"It could be that he was sent to us for a reason." Lily tried to counter. "Maybe…" 

She couldn't say it. Couldn't say that maybe he was a gift sent through their prayers, because of all the hardships that they had to endure. That would lead her to being a religious person. And as she was a witch, she was not at all religious. But if there was the smallest possibility… 

Albus looked to her solemnly. "That will be decided when the boy wakes up. But for the moment, he will be placed under numerous protection spells. Both for his safety and for ours." The headmaster looked to the strange boy. "It is highly doubtful that his coming brings good news, but nevertheless… I would hope it to be." 

Lily slumped as her husband placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Such a miracle was long overdue in the wizarding world. If it was indeed Harry, then the press would most certainly want to know the story. Anything to get the public's minds off of Voldemort's growing attacks. 

"What if he is our child, though?" Lily whispered softly. "There's no way of knowing if Voldemort set this up, and it is highly doubtful of that, seeing that Severus is one of Voldemort's most trusted men. What if by some odd chance Harry _has_ come back to us. Perhaps a time-turner?? An accident? Something??" 

"Lily." James's voice was hushed. "We don't know anything for sure as of yet. There are still many spells to be performed on him when he wakes. Veritaserum as well, most likely. Please don't set yourself up to be disappointed later." 

Lily's green eyes grew sad. James was right, of course. After Harry had died… she had found out that they could not have more children. Had she been able to care for another child, perhaps the pain would be lessened. Even if they had the chance to adopt a child, to provide him or her with the atmosphere needed to grow up safe and loved. 

But Voldemort was too big a problem to ignore. It was wrong to raise a child up in an environment that might have any of them targeted and killed at any day. And she could not stand the heartache if another child of hers were to be lost. 

Sirius and Remus had thought like that as well. And Peter… dearest Peter had been killed in one of the skirmishes between Death Eaters and Aurors. Hit by a stray Avada Kedavera when he had been trying to protect his friends. That had been five years ago, but they all still mourned the loss. 

And Harry… Harry had died ten years ago. Her little boy with the ready smile and bright laughter. Died because they hadn't been able to get to him in time when he had been kidnapped by the Death Eaters. Because they could not agree to Voldemort's terms, no matter how much they wanted to save their child. 

The Death Eaters had drowned him. Drowned him in the very lake at Hogwarts to make a statement, to say that nowhere was safe. And… she had never been able to forgive them afterwards. Lily had always thought that there was no such thing as evil- only wrong choices and bad timed decisions. Only people who lacked love in their lives, and wanted others to feel what they were going through. 

Yet after that… after that she could not forgive any one of them. Harry had just been a _child…_ a child that had not hurt a single soul. They had killed him not because of who he was or something that he did, but only because James had Dumbledore's complete trust and access to files on the Order. 

That wound in her heart had never healed, no matter the soothing words James offered her. And now seeing this teenaged boy before her… they boy that liked so much like her own son- she did not know if she could let anyone hurt him anymore. No matter if he was sent by Voldemort, no matter if he would scorn her or turn away from her. 

Even if Albus wouldn't allow it… she would not let anyone harm her son anymore. Not now that she was given a second chance to love him. 

  
  


TBC

**Authoress's Rambles:** Blah. I made Lily sound like a loony at the end. I know, this is a short chapter compaired to what I usually do. But I think I'll stick to short chapters as of the moment. I really hope that people like this story, or at least the beginning of it. And I'd like to justify Lily's behavior as my own if I had lost my child in a horrible way and was now getting a second chance. She's lucky it really is Harry... because, yes, she would have supported him even if he were there to kill her.   
And the thing about Harry being drowned in this universe? (He was about six years old, to clarify.) Well, I figured that he couldn't have been the only child a parent died for, so he must have had some natural immunity to the killing curse. So I needed another way to kill this universe's Harry. And well, it just seemed to fit. 

Next  
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	2. Where memories are forgotten

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

Warnings: Angst and angst. This is NOT going to be a happy, feel good story. I _might_ end this with a happy ending, but I doubt it unless people actually convice me. And even though I'll use it as an alternate ending. LOL. A little bit of Draco+Harry/Harry+Draco but it won't come up until later.

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
He didn't want to wake up. It was so warm where he was, in the deep darkness and the snug heat. But he knew that he had to… almost like when a spell was placed on one to wake up. It wasn't any use to try and disobey that spell. 

The first thing that he noticed when he truly woke up had to be the light. It was hard not to notice that when it hurt his eyes so. But then… the next thing he noticed was brilliant red. Red hair not unlike the Weasley family. But not a bright red that practically glowed in the dark… but a darker and more subdued red, almost brownish in the dim light of the infirmary. He moved his head tiredly to follow that red, frowning as he tried to remember where he had seen that color before. He was sure that the Weasleys were the only redheads that he knew… and their hair color was nothing like this. Not this subdued. The person he was looking at must have realized he was awake because she (had to be a girl. She had a figure after all) immediately stood up. He tried his best to make out the face, but he could barely see parts of her. 

"Albus." She sounded relieved, almost, looking up. Where had he heard that voice before? Harry would swear that he had heard her voice before, yet if he had, he would have most certainly remembered it. He didn't know many people outside of Hogwarts, but he was sure that he had never heard that voice in school before. 

Another figure strode up the Harry. 

"I see our boy is awake." There was an amusement in the voice that was very familiar to Harry, as he always remembered his own Headmaster talking like that. He squinted a bit to see, still only semi-lucid at the moment. "Perhaps now he can answer the questions that we need to hear." 

What were they talking about? His head felt so fuzzy… he could barely think at all. It was like someone had taken much time to place cobwebs all over his mind, although he would have expected more of a headache than the one he currently had. Then the first question (which had been drilled into him to ask the first thing he gained consciousness) was: 

Where was he? 

At least… that was what he tried to ask. What probably came out were nothing more than a croak, though. He felt as if he had swallowed fire and had third-degree burns running down his throat. But strangely enough, the pain he felt was very much diluted down. Almost like… he was very drink. Without loosing his senses. 

The redhead in question seemed to mull over what to do for a few moments before muttering, "I'll go get Poppy. She'll want to know her patient's awake. Will probably make something that'll allow him to speak better as well." 

"Yes, yes…" The other mumbled, resting a warm hand on Harry's forehead. 

Harry didn't know how to react. He wasn't sure he could actually react much. His limbs all felt like lead, and he felt more tired than having practiced quittidich for over five hours straight. But he still felt as if he needed to understand his surroundings more. And well, he couldn't very well do that while he was lying down incapacitated, could he? 

He struggled extremely hard to move his arms and push himself up against the head of the bed. It didn't help that his blurry vision made it hard tell which was up and which was down. Where the bloody hell was his glasses, anyway? 

Although he could not see it, Albus smiled slightly. It seemed that this boy was indeed stubborn and stronger than he first expected. He seemed to be fighting the numbing potion that Poppy had added in his drink the first time he woke up. 

"You are at Hogwarts, child. And if you can answer, there is a few things that need answering." 

Harry just nodded dully, not completely comprehending. There were still too many cobwebs in his mind, too much confusion. What in the world had happened? He couldn't remember at the moment. And he had a feeling that he should be able to remember, and that he would, given a certain amount of time. 

He could faintly see the redhead coming back again, this time leading someone else. 

"First of all, can you tell us who you are?" 

Harry tried to work his tongue for a few moments before he seemed it satisfactory enough to produce to sounds he needed to answer the question. "Harry Potter." He said, grimacing at the hoarse grinding sound that accompanied his answer. 

There was a sharp intake of breath, although from whom, he wasn't sure. 

The person who was questioning him seemed to think this over a bit, as if not quite happy with that answer. Then there was a brief sigh and a few more questions. "Alright, then. Who were your parents, your birthday, and… your godfather's name." 

Cobwebs. Blah. Cobwebs were so overrated. Why was his mind still so hazy? But still, he was glad that he could answer all of this without having to think about it. 

"My parents were James and Lily Potter… I was born on July 31, 1980 and my godfather is Sirius Black." There. And his voice still sounded horrible, although it was getting easier to speak. 

"Well…" muttered a shock feminine voice that was oh-so-familiar to Harry. "That's common knowledge. Although there isn't many people who know that Sirius was Harry's godfather… it wasn't kept secret." 

Harry frowned. What were they talking about? And… he struggled to think. Why was he feeling so… for a lack of a better word, _high_? He didn't like the feeling at all. And he didn't like the blurry vision, either. It made him feel… rather defenseless, actually. 

"Can't think right…" he mumbled softly, still dazed from waking up and not realizing anything- where he was, who was there with him, and what happened. 

The redhead turned to the other woman she brought in. "Poppy? What's wrong with him?" 

The woman came up to him straight away and fussed over him a bit… checking his temperature and his eyes, then muttering a spell that Harry couldn't hear underneath her breath. She finally nodded, as if satisfied with her results. "Shock. Not in the terms of the immediate sense, of course. More like refusing to accept something. Common symptoms of trauma patients- hardly surprising considering the state he was in before he got here." 

Shock? Was that what it was? Well then… he didn't like being in shock much, then. 

The woman tsked and fussed over his some more, making sure the pillows behind him wouldn't hurt his back if he leaned on them for too long, and that his covers were at least pulled neatly over his waist. 

"What do you think of this, Headmaster? He seems too out of it to lie to us right now… but I don't understand." The redhead sounded… strained. 

"Perhaps there are easy explanations to this than the ones you seek." The man turned back towards Harry and gave an encouraging pat on the arm. "Well, then, young Harry… do you remember anything about what happened to you or how you got here?" 

Harry frowned again. This was ridiculous. He could barely think, much less remember anything! 

But… 

_HotFireFlamesScotchingEvilBlistersHeatRedBloodHelplessHopeless_

"I remember…" He could barely hear himself talking, barely feel himself giving a small, secret smile. "I remember just a small thing." 

"Oh?" There was curiosity in the word, no matter who uttered that word. 

Harry closed his eyes, the small smile still lingering on his lips. With that memory coming back to him, no matter how muddled he still felt, he also felt distinctly cold. It was near freezing without the fire there, without all the flames there to lick away at his skin. 

"What do you remember, Harry?" The redheaded woman pressed. 

He opened his eyes. "Fire." And gave them a quirk of his lips. "The world was on fire. And… they wanted me to put it out. So I did." He made a vague gesture with his right arm, and dimly saw all the white bandages that he was covered in. "And flooded the world." 

He laughed now. Laughed until he lost his brittle voice, until he didn't sound quite sane. 

  
  


"What would you make of him, Lily?" 

The redheaded woman that had paced the Hospital Wing more times than she could remember shook her head violently and wrung her hands. "I _don't_ know what to make of him, Albus. Like you said before, he shouldn't be lying when he's in a state like this… but this is insane." She stopped all movements whatsoever, a melancholy look appearing in her eyes. "Completely insane." 

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk wearily, uncertain to recent actions. "He is truthful, I will give him that. It makes everything much more complicated, though." He gave a hearty sigh and adjusted his half moon spectacles. "But if he really is Harry Potter, then we have the miracle we wanted for so long now, correct?" 

Lily looked up from where she was staring at the coffee table. "I…" she struggled for words. "I guess so, Professor. But I guess this miracle wasn't intended for the war." She also gave a sigh and buried a hand in her auburn locks. "What in the world am I going to tell James?" she murmured. 

"The truth, of course." 

She turned and started pacing again, not caring if she was going to wear a trail in the Headmaster's office. "It's not that easy! James is utterly convinced that the child is an imposter. I tried to talk to him before, tried to convince him of the slightest chance of a miracle. But he won't listen to me." She gave a brief chortling laughter. "Says that we should always expect the worst, and that it could always be a trap." 

She stopped pacing and fiddled with a ring on her thin necklace. "He's changed as well." She said softly. 

"Everyone has changed in the coarse of the war." Albus tried to reassure her. "But he still loves you and will listen to you if you are sure of what to tell him." 

Lily sat down in one of the chairs. "But that's just it. I'm not sure of what to tell him. Here's a boy that looks so much like him… like James, like our little Harry. Except he's nearly grown up and he's different. There's no way he can be our son because our son died years ago. I would have said something with a time-turner, but that can't be true either… because Harry never saw his eleventh birthday." 

"There is a few other theories you have left out. But I would like to confirm something before I have to reveal all." Albus stood up again. "You should try again with James. He may not want to believe, but somewhere deep in his heart, he wants nothing more but for this to be true." 

There was a brief and terse knock on the door. The Headmaster smiled suddenly. "Ah, that would be Minerva. Do come in!" 

The doors opened to see a flustered Head of Gryffindor and an extremely annoyed Head of Slytherin come on, carting with them two boys who were both sporting bruises and glaring daggers at each other. 

"Headmaster!" Minerva McGonagall looked ready to burst with anger. "These two boys were found in the dungeons fighting. _Again_." 

Lily couldn't help but hide a smile as she saw the two. Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy. It would figure, really. Those two had been at each other's throats since first year. They were lucky that Albus was so lenient with them… as well as the fact that their daily spats amused the old man to no ends. 

"Well, then…" Albus was smiling. "What do you two have to say about this?" 

"He started it!" 

The two boys glared hard at each other, both having said that at the same time. Really, even at sixteen they couldn't stop phrases like that when with each other. 

"Professor Dumbledore!" There were two voices that burst into the room, looking rumpled and as if they had run across the castle to get there. "It wasn't Ron, Professor! It was Malfoy's fault!" 

The blonde Slytherin sneered. "Of course a Gryffindor would say that. Typical Gryffindor answer, don't you think?" He didn't struggle in Professor Snape's hold, though. 

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had rushed into the room, and were both talking a mile a minute, making up excuses and reasons to get their fellow Gryffindor out of trouble. 

Lily excused herself as Albus waved her out, and heard the argument long after she left the office. Those boys… they were really loud. 

But her thoughts faltered. Harry should have been in their year… should have been their friend. He might have been the one in trouble now, just like James was always in trouble. Maybe if Harry had been there, those boys would have been part of a new generation of Marauders, would have pulled pranks on all the Professors and had fun. 

And maybe, she allowed the forbidden thought to come to her, they could still do that. If this really was Harry… even if it were someone else, she wanted a good life for him. Call it maternal instinct, call it sympathy. But having watched her child grow into such a joyful little boy gave her time to make plans for his future. Plans that had never been carried out. Plans… that she still wanted to carry out, no matter what. 

But there was still many complications, so many obstacles in the way. 

But no matter. She would talk to James, and get him to speak with the boy who went by her son's name at least. Smiling to herself, Lily found herself fiddling with the ring that James had given her for their fifteenth anniversary again. 

Maybe… it really was a miracle. 

  
  


Harry pushed his glasses up from where they had been slipping down his nose. He felt much better now… although still as confused as before. Madam Pomfrey had told him that it was expected, so that he shouldn't worry about it much. But most of his injuries had been healed (he was also told that he had been out for over two weeks) and he felt anxious to leave the infirmary. It wasn't that he had anything against the place, no. He could vaguely remember very good memories here, learning wizarding medicine and healing. But it was just that he wasn't allowed to do anything more than sit and read. 

Could it get _any_ more boring? 

There was a small nagging voice in the back of his head that told him he would rather be bored than have things happen right now. He couldn't help but reluctantly agree to that. He still felt too tired to walk, much less have anything happen to him. 

He could barely remember what he had said to the Headmaster that made everyone so upset. They had taken away his wand (did he have it in the first place?) and told him to stay put. Then gave him a muggle book and went off to discuss other things. 

Of course, Madam Pomfrey came and went once in a while, and Harry realized that he was in a secluded section of the Hospital Wing, because he could dimly hear students in the background, complaining of physical ailments. He was surprised that he couldn't see any of them, because it always looked as if the entire place was empty. He also wondered if other people knew he was here, and wondered on where he was. 

Oh, he remembered Hogwarts all right. He remembered that he was supposed to be in sixth year, Gryffindor. He vaguely remembered the classes that he took and his friends. But the thing that really set him off was that his friends hadn't visited him, and when asking Madam Pomfrey about it, she just gave him a strange look. 

The one thing he remembered the most was the fire. He couldn't remember much of what happened before, or the events that lead up to it, but he remembered choking on the fumes and the emotions that were so tangible spread in the air. 

He couldn't even remembered what happened after it, only the feeling of relief and the freezing cold that settled over his smoldering flesh. 

Which, he had to admit, wasn't the thing he wanted to think about all day. 

He wanted to talk with other people, wanted to sort out all the things in his mind, and wanted to understand what was happening to him. He had a feeling that he didn't want to remember, didn't want to memories to surface again. But there was also a feeling of honest truth that he missed. It was the feeling that tempted him into trouble all the time. That he just _had_ to know what was going on. 

Well, at least he got his glasses. 

Harry scowled a bit as he remembered that. He didn't understand why they had to give him seeing tests before giving him glasses. Why couldn't they just understand that he was blind as a bat and to just hand him the thickest pair of glasses possible? It only got him irritated each time someone had to look at him with the shock of how blind he really was. 

Maybe next time he should ask for contact lenses. 

Oh yes, that would go well. And when in a wizard duel he'd have to stop and have people look for his contacts if it fell out. He grinned to himself. At least contacts would be harder to fall off. He was tired of someone accidentally knocking his glasses askew. 

He fingered his glasses in thought. Maybe he could just transfigure his glasses into contacts. But no, he would need his wand to do that. 

He scowled to himself again. Well, he could at least keep himself amused, right? 

He looked around the infirmary cautiously. As long as it was small… he should be able to practice. 

Seeing the water pitcher on the desk by the bed, Harry smirked slightly. 

  
  


TBC

**Authoress's Rambles:** Next chapter Draco and Harry meet! ^_^ And well as the Gryffindors if I can put that in. Where's Hermione? And Lily trying to convince James to talk to Harry. I need to stop getting distracted by other things. It's James's fault, really, for giving me the _Now and Then, Here and There_ CDs. ^^;; I've been watching and couldn't help but plot fic ideas with that storyline...  
Thanks to **Crystal Millennium**, **Maudlin**, **FireSenshi**, and **chibi-Tenshi** who reviewed! ^_^ Yes, he's going to stay in this universe for a while, although I'm not sure if he should go back or not yet. And how he got there _will_ be explained in the near future! ^_~ I'm in too good of a mood currently to write angst, really. *dances off into the sunset with Hisoka in tow, sputtering and protesting* Have a nice day, peoples!!

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	3. When Draco sees Harry

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

Warnings: Angst and angst. This is NOT going to be a happy, feel good story. I _might_ end this with a happy ending, but I doubt it unless people actually convice me. And even though I'll use it as an alternate ending. LOL. A little bit of Draco+Harry/Harry+Draco but it won't come up until later.

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
Walking back to her quarters was insufferable. She wanted more time to prepare herself, thinking that walking across the castle might give her sufficient time. But arriving at the door of her temporary chambers, she found herself beginning to panic yet again. 

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Lily straightened her robes and told the outside portrait the password to get in. When the door opened, she was not surprised to see her husband slumped against the wall near the flickering fireplace. 

Lily caught her breath. She didn't want to make this harder for him, as she could tell that he was already taking this harder than he had let on. But… she couldn't give up hope. And she wanted… no, _needed_, him to see that. 

"You want me to talk to him." 

Lily spared another moment of glancing at James before she shut the door behind her. It was a statement that he made, not a question. And didn't want to be the one to correct him. 

"You shouldn't accept this so calmly, Lily…" James replaced his glasses and stared at her. "You're only going to bring heartache to yourself." 

"I don't remember when we gave up complete hope, James." Lily responded, calmer than she felt as she moved across the room to also stand before the fireplace. "I don't remember when this war stripped away all our happiness and joys. When we started to doubt miracles." 

She tilted her head to stare deeply into the fire, the lighting making her red hair shine brightly. "I remember that we used to believe in everything… back in our school days when everything could be explained with magic and whatnots. But now… it's almost like we don't believe anymore." 

"How _can_ we believe when we have to be constantly aware of this war before us? It's not like we've given up in magic… we're not muggles who stop believing in it once they grow up. But caution is also something to learn. We don't know who this boy is…" 

"What if this _is_ a miracle, though?" Lily was once again fiddling with her necklace, a habit that she hadn't been able to break. "What if this is our second chance?" 

"And what if this is a trick of Voldemort's? What if he could be our deaths?" James shook his head, and grabbed for Lily's hand that had still been tugging at her necklace. He held her hand firmly in his grasp, smoothing his thumb over her wedding ring. "It's much more possible for him to be a spy than for him to be a miracle, my love. And… I know how hard you took Harry's death… I don't want to see you like that again. You can't get too attached. You'll be heartbroken." 

Lily gave this a moment of thought, but then took her hand back, determination filling her. "Albus trusts him, James. There's something about this boy… I believe him. And I think I'd rather be heartbroken than know that I passed up something like this. If I don't trust him, then I will forever regret it." 

She turned pleading eyes on him. "Please. He says that he's Harry… and I believe him. By the gods, I swear I believe him. Not just because of how he looks like our son… but that look in his eyes… so much pain, so much desperation. A look like that can't be faked, James. And his laugh…" she nearly shuddered at the memory of it. "It was the laughter of someone who was nearly broken. Almost like Sirius had sounded when he thought that we had died. No child should have to feel that way." 

James was silent, face turned away from hers. 

Lily reached up to touch her husband's face, tracing over the faint worry lines beside his eyes. "Just speak with him but a while. You'll see what I was talking about." She smiled bitterly. "Don't pass up this chance to talk to your son again." 

James drew in a shuddering breath and Lily nodded, knowing that she had convinced him. 

  
  


It came as a surprise to Draco that the usually sunny Hospital Wing was so blasted _cold_. It was like a freezer, and the blonde boy could almost imagine being able to see his breath before him. He didn't like the Hospital Wing to begin with, but he didn't want to go to class the next day with that stupid cut that Weasley gave him when he was pushed against the suit of armor. 

He scowled deeply, bringing a pale hand to touch the tender skin above his brow. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it was now starting to sting. That damned Weasel… Malfoys should not have to associate or tolerate behavior from those so much lower than him. They were a disgrace to purebloods, by wanting to much to admire the muggles. 

There was a difference between wizards and muggles for a reason. Every time wizards and witches helped muggles, they were always condemned and killed. His family had learned early on never to trust muggles… and those wizards who were muggle-born… they always told _someone_. 

His mood only got darker with the thought. Besides, it wasn't fair that families who worked so hard to keep the pure wizard's blood clean in their kin were sometimes bested in magical power by muggles who just happened to have a stronger gift. 

Mudbloods… they didn't _understand_. Understand the _history_ behind wizarding families. And it was a shame that the Weasleys allowed themselves to admire the muggles so. Muggles who would turn on wizards, given the chance. 

A small clicking sound stopped Draco in his brooding. He blinked out of his anger and looked around, not seeing anything out of place. 

But then he heard a small sigh off to the backside of the infirmary, and creeped closer. Who would be here at this time? Quidittch games were already over, and he hadn't heard any explosions in potions today (if there was one person who could screw up the simplest potion, it had to be Longbottom). If it were just someone with a headache, they should be out in plain view. 

Peering around a curtained off area, he was surprised to see a boy around his age sitting there, adjusting black framed spectacles and muttering something under his breath. Draco wasn't sure what surprised him more, the fact that the boy looked nearly identical to Professor Potter, or that there was a thin layer of glistening liquid floating in the air. 

Water, he realized. Water that looked like a glittering and shimmering crystal ball or a plane of wavering glass. 

It was a beautiful sight, he had to admit. The floating liquid sparkled brighter than precious jewels in the sunlight. 

And the boy, although small, gave off a commanding presence. The magical energy that he gave off while performing the task was enough to send Draco reeling. Here… was a powerful Wizard. 

Yet before he could make his presence known, Draco heard oncoming footsteps entering the Hospital Wing and immediately hid himself in the drapes. Glaring with pale eyes to see who had interrupted his watch, he shrunk back when he realized it was his ex-DADA teacher and wife storming in. 

The beautiful crystalline water that Draco had observed had disappeared when the footsteps had sounded, and the other boy was now looking towards his visitors calmly. Draco was amazed to see the similarities between the boy and his visitors- almost like he was their son. 

But it was impossible. Everyone knew that the Potters' only child had died years ago. 

Looking to the boy's nearly glowing green eyes and shock of midnight black hair, though… it was easy to believe that perhaps the Potter child hadn't died after all. 

Professor Potter stopped at the boy's bedside, brown eyes filled with obvious contempt and ill conceived sadness. Lily Potter stopped beside him, except she gave the boy an encouraging smile and sat on the chair pulled to the bed. 

"My wife has convinced me to talk to you." Professor Potter said strictly, the way he would sometimes talk to misbehaving students. "She said that you were in Albus Dumbledore's good faith, and that you have claimed to be our son." 

_Oh,_ Draco thought. _This should be interesting…_

Someone who looked so much like the Potters, and yet his own parents didn't know him. 

Although he did not physically react, the look in the boy's eyes was painful. 

"Harry…" Lily Potter smoothed out the bed sheets nervously. "I really do think you should tell him of what you have to say. About what you know, what you remember." She looked torn, as if she wanted to hear Harry and yet at the same time did not want to hear. 

"I don't know what to say." Was the calm answer the boy gave, his voice low with thought and steady with confidence. It was a reassuring voice, the kind you would listen to if you wanted advice, or if you just wanted someone to talk to you. It made Draco looked closer at the boy, to see if this was the kind of person who would not judge until he heard all sides. 

"Then why don't you answer some of _my_ questions?" the elder Potter nearly sneered as he grabbed Harry's wrist in a non-too-gentle way. For his credit, Harry did not react. 

Professor Potter lifted up the limp limb. "Since you do not bear the Death Mark, everyone seems to be trusting you. I do not. You might have convinced my wife that you are her long dead son, but you have yet to convince me." At this, Mrs. Potter looked guilty. "And I will not fail to bring you down unless you convince me of truth behind your words." 

"Then I shouldn't have to worry since there's nothing _but_ truth behind my words." Was Harry's indignant reply. 

Professor Potter ignored those words. He set a very delicate sneak-o-scope on the bedside table, and glared at the boy that looked so much like him. "First your name. And your relation with You-know-who, then your relation with us." 

Harry glared back defiantly. "My name is Harold James Potter, born on July 31, 1980. My relation to Voldemort is as his enemy, and I have no relations with you." 

"If you really are Harry, then you would have a relation with us!" 

Lily drew her enraged husband's arm, and shook her head at his anger. 

"I have no relation with you because I don't know who you are!" Harry countered. His green eyes were dark not with anger, but with pain. "You look like the pictures of my parents, but James and Lily Potter died long ago!" 

Draco drew a sharp breath. What in the world? Great Merlin… the kid was either delusional or… 

"Died?" Lily's voice was shaky. Her eyes were fixed on Harry as she urged her husband to sit on the chair next to hers. She glanced at the unresponsive sneak-o-scope briefly and then back at the boy. "Why don't you…" she swallowed thickly. "Why don't you tell us what happened, Harry?" 

Harry was looking at them strangely, but when James Potter didn't protest or speak up, he started. "I was born to James and Lily Potter during the rising power of Lord Voldemort, at the turn of the war. For some reason, he wanted to make sure that I died, so my parents used the Fidelius Charm to go into hiding. They were originally going to use Sirius Black as their Secret Keeper, but he was too obvious so they used Peter Pettigrew instead." Harry's voice grew bitter. 

"That is…" James Potter's voice nearly broke. "Exactly what happened." 

"Well, Peter Pettigrew was a spy for Voldemort… not that anyone knew. But he gave out their location and on Halloween of 1981, Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow and killed my parents." 

"Oh Merlin…" Lily breathed. "How did you survive?" 

"My mother died… to save me. And with that protection, Voldemort couldn't harm me." Harry grimaced, his eyes flashing. "But… he's been after me since then." 

"Remus found out the day before Halloween that Peter had been captured by You-Know-Who… and he warned us and had us move out before the attack. Peter had been given Veritaserum by Death Eaters and tortured for hours… he never meant to give out our location, but luckily saw Severus in time to warn him and made him promise to help us." Lily explained. 

Harry shook his head. "Didn't happen. The Secret Keeper was switched because Sirius suspected Remus was the spy, but he was wrong." 

"Maybe…" Lily was hesitant. "Maybe this is what could have happened." She looked straight into the identical green eyes. "We found you… under unusual circumstances. Maybe you come from someplace where something changed. What could have been… would have been." 

There was another door opening that shocked Draco from the conversation. Taking one last glance at the strange boy whom struck such curiosity in him, Draco turned from the drapes and hurried away to ponder what he had heard. 

  
  


"Headmaster." 

Albus Dumbledore smiled at his former students as they resided against the bed frame of the boy who had brought up so many questions with his appearance. Ah, the worries of youth. 

"I have some good news for the all of you. Poppy has just gotten the results back from St. Mungo's… and this young man is, indeed, physically and magically, Harry Potter." Albus pushed up his half moon spectacles. "And as you all know… magic identity cannot be duplicated." 

The three were silent as the information was digested. 

"Then I was right." Lily grew excited. "It _is_ Harry… possibly from a place where the timeline has been changed." 

James looked like the air had been punched from him, as shocked as he was. 

"Another place, you say?" Dumbledore looked interested. "That is a possibility that we had not considered yet, although in this case it might be true. Tell me, child," he turned his attention to Harry. "Are things very different here than what you are used to?" 

Harry looked a bit bewildered. "Actually…" he spoke quietly. "Yes. Things are very much different. So much that I thought I was either dreaming or dead." 

A pained expression crossed both James and Lily's eyes when that was mentioned, but Albus chose to ignore that for the moment. 

"Oh?" He was curious. "Can you tell us the differences?" 

"First off, my parents are dead." Harry said flatly, as if the information had no effect on him at all. Albus had to raise an inquisitive brow at that. "They've been dead for a long time. And I don't think Hogwarts looks like how I remember it. I haven't seen anything other than that, so I can't really tell the differences. But I know for sure that this place is _nothing_ like I remember. For some reason, I remember something much…" 

_Fire and screaming. Crying for a place that he had considered home for nearly six years. Anger at the one whom had created this disaster. Fear of what to do next, of the future. Despair for the helplessness in everything. Grief for those who had not gotten out alive._

"…darker." 

Harry grew grim as he pondered on the sudden onslaught of memories and voices in his head. He remembered Hogwarts… remembered the joy he had felt while there. Remembered the laughter and friends and love that had surrounded him. Even during the dangerous times, when disaster struck and he had to face the danger that no student should have to face. He still remembered all of that fondly. Yet these memories were different from all that. These memories held more… rage. 

Dumbledore decided not to press Harry more about it. "Then perhaps you should be able to see more of this world before making a decision on that." He smiled. "These times by itself is quite dark… although for some reason the Dark Lord had not been able to fully come to power. Tell me, Harry, is Voldemort powerful in your world?" 

Harry thought about it. "Yes. He killed a lot of people… destroyed a lot of places. But something stopped him, I think." 

"Something stopped him, you say?" The headmaster's interest peaked at this. Although the Dark Lord had never attacked Hogwarts before, and had only sent out small attacks in periods during the last few years, he was still a great danger to the wizarding world. A very great danger. 

"I think it was water… and fire. I don't quite remember." 

Harry was starting to get a headache from thinking of this too much. He remembered lots of fire… hot, hot fire. And then he remembered being very cold. A sensation like being pulled… like he had been poisoned but had the poison drawn out of him in a extremely painful manner. 

And damn it… the headache was getting worse. 

Dumbledore made a small noise of thought. The headmaster glanced briefly at the elder Potters, and found them still quite in shock and excitement. Like they finally had something they had longed for, but didn't know what to do with it now that they had it. 

"Well then… I'm sure you'll have enough time to organize your thoughts later. I suppose we'll have to start working on a way to send you back home." Albus stole another glance at Lily and James, who didn't react. "A rip between worlds is never a good thing. It has only been a bad omen throughout history. But I suppose that you should attend school while you are here… so that you wouldn't fall behind in your studies. I'm assuming that you are in sixth year and will have to take the NEWTS next year." 

Harry didn't respond that he didn't think that would be possible. 

"I assume that you are a Gryffindor, Harry?" 

Harry nodded, and notice the small smile on his parents' (but not really his parents) lips. 

"Then you will be attending classes with the rest of the six year Gryffindors. I'm afraid you won't be able to move into the Gryffindor dorm until a bit later, before you're fully recovered. You'll have to stay in the Hospital Wing until then, of course." 

"We can take him in." Lily spoke up. "It shouldn't be a problem." 

Albus looked to her with an amused smile. "Well, then… if James agrees to that, perhaps Poppy would approve." 

"He agrees." Lily said confidently, gripping her husband's shoulder so tightly that he gave a responding yelp. 

"Perhaps there were friends that you related to before, Harry? Friends that you make again here so that you wouldn't feel left out." 

Harry gave a slow smile, remembering. He nodded. "Yes. I don't know if it's the same here… but I'd like to see my friends again. Ron and Hermione should still be in Gryffindor, right? And Draco's still in Slytherin?" 

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore was more than amused. "You are correct in their house sorting, although I have never seen either of the three get along." 

"Eh, well…" Harry gave a shy smile. "I guess they don't." 

"Well, you won't be able to tell them of your predicament, but I think it was be good for them the share a common friend. Perhaps you would be able to heal the rifts in between those three." Dumbledore smiled at the dark-haired boy. "It would be good to see them together without arguments." 

  
  


End part 3

**Authoress's Rambles:** Sorry about taking so much time to put out this chapter but Finals is coming up, and I had to catch up on tons of homework. Most of this was written in Chemistry and History class. ^^;; Good thing, though, is that I had the plot sorted out. Sorry about rushing this, but I'm trying to get to the plot! XD Next chapter, Harry's classes and his meeting with Ron, Hermione, and Draco. James and Lily try and explain the situation to Sirius and Remus.   
As always, many thanks to reviewers!! ^_^ To **Kanashimi**, **Saya-Sato**, **Salted Peanuts**, **Phoenix353**, **Chocolate Frog**, and **Lizeth** for reviews! I don't mind not having much reviews. I love writing this story, even though it distracts me from school. ^^;; I hope to be able to finish this fic- although it _will_ take some time. The water will be explained later, and Harry already knows that he's in the wrong universe, but he still doesn't completely remember what happened to him. And I hope for the story to develop equally in all relationships. ^_^ Friends, family, and lovelife. Although things get more complicated later! *winks*

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	4. First day of classes

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

This is going be the lighter than I thought because even _I_ felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
It really was strange pretending not to know people that you do. Especially when they've been your best friends for years. 

But as Harry found a seat in the middle of History of Magic, he couldn't help but groan mentally at all the whispering about the "new" student. He didn't want to look up to see all the pointed stares in his direction, although this time it wasn't because of his scar. 

And he didn't want to tell them about his scar, he mused, not while they didn't question it. It wasn't as if they were looking for a scar on Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, so they could question it. Of course, Lily and James Potter didn't count, since they seemed to notice all the differences between him and their own son anyway. 

Patting his dark fringe reassuringly, Harry looked up when he saw someone take a seat next to him. He wasn't surprised to see Seamus grinning curiously at him, as the other boy had always been curious about other people. But Harry hadn't been sure if the trait had been dominant of the Seamus of this world. 

"Hullo!" Seamus said brightly, careful not to be too loud to get Professor Binn's attention. "You're Harry Potter, right?" He didn't give Harry time to confirm this before he went on, "Professor Dumbledore was talking about a new student this morning. He said that you're a Gryffindor, but that you won't be staying with us for a while. Didn't tell us why. But are you related to Professor Potter? They said he didn't have a kid, though. How come you weren't here for the first five years? 

"Oh! By the way, I'm Seamus. I'm in Gryffindor, too." Seamus grinned sheepishly at the dazed expression on Harry's face from all the questions. The sandy-haired boy extended his hand to the raven-haired boy with a smile. "We've never had a student start in the middle years before, so it might be a little strange to others- they'll stare at you a lot. But we should be able to help you settle in!" 

"We?" Harry questioned, even as he shook Seamus's hand. Seamus just had a way of gaining trust from someone, a charismatic endeavor that landed him in Gryffindor in the first place. Or at least that was what the Seamus of his world always claimed. 

"Yeah, we as in Dean, Ron, and I." He pointed to two tables not far away in the back, where students were dozing lightly in class. "Dean's the quiet one, and Ron's the redhead. We're not much, but we're the Gryffindor Trio!" 

Harry felt a sharp sting in his heart. They were the Gryffindor Trio? But… well, it was probably what would have happened. He had never been there, and Ron and Hermione never had to face a troll because Voldemort had never died and Quirrell never let in that mountain troll, probably never taught Defense Against Dark Arts at Hogwarts anyway. So the friendships had never taken place, those dangerous situations never making Ron and Hermione closer than ever. Did that mean that those two weren't together? It would be so strange to see them apart after seeing them joined at the hip for over a year. 

"So what about you? Where were you before Hogwarts?" Seamus asked. 

"Ehh…" Harry remembered the story that James and Lily had told him. "I was home schooled. Mom and Dad thought that with it being so dangerous in the wizarding world lately, they wanted to make sure that I wasn't a target. I was under the Fidius Charm for a while, until they finally conceded that I needed to learn to socialize and learn by experience." 

Seamus looked skeptical for a moment before moving on. "Then you're related to Professor Potter?" 

"He's my dad." 

It felt extremely uncomfortable to say that, despite the fact that he had always longed for his parents. It was just that he had been used to the fact that his parents would be nothing but an ideal and a dream for so long… he couldn't really deal with the reality of it. Especially when they weren't really his parents, per say. 

"Wow, he must be strict." Seamus whistled. "I remember when Professor Potter taught here in first year. He taught us a lot, yeah… but we were given tons of work- more then Professor Snape, and that's saying something! I mean, I know that we're at a war and we need to know all we can about the Dark Arts… but honestly. It's not like You-Know-Who's going to attack Hogwarts." 

"I'm sure he has his reasons for being strict, though." Harry mused. He wasn't sure so if Voldemort was that afraid of Hogwarts anymore. After all, his years at school had proved otherwise. 

But other than that, he wasn't surprised that no one was paying attention to Professor Binns… well, with the exception of Hermione, of course. 

"Well, I don't know… He seemed kind of dank and moody all the time to me." Then Seamus remembered whom he was talking to. "Not that he is, of course! His home life must be loads different." 

"Um… I'm pretty sure you're accurate." 

Harry looked away as Seamus gave him a sympathetic look. 

"Hello." He gave a small smile to the girl sitting before Seamus, taking notes at a furious pace. "You're Hermione, right?" 

The bushy-haired girl (She looked very different from how Harry remembered her in sixth year- the Hermione he remembered had cut her hair boy style and allowed the curls to grow wild, making her hair as messy as Harry's.) slammed her quill into her ink bottle before turning back to glare at Harry. "Yes, I am Hermione. And I should warn you now since you are new, that making fun of me while I can hear you will have dire consequences. I may be a nerd, but that only means I know enough hexes to curse you into next week." 

She turned back to her notes. 

Harry sat back, stunned, before turning with a questioning look for Seamus. The Irish boy gave a shrug, rolled his eyes and made a gagging noise at Hermione. The witch stiffened, but did not turn to see who had emitted the noise. 

Harry decided to remain silent to digest the fact that one of his best friends was nothing like how he remembered her. 

  
  


"Transfiguration next!" Seamus said gleefully, rubbing his hands when he stood up. The end of class had startled most of the students, and some had friends wake them up. Harry was putting his books back into his bag when Dean and Ron had walked over to Seamus, also curious about Harry, having slept through the class and hadn't really noticed the small boy. 

He watched Hermione leave class in a flurry and was more than startled by the hands that suddenly grasped his shouldered, as Seamus enthusiastically introduced Harry to Ron and Dean. He stumbled forward a bit, not used to the weight of the other larger boy. 

The other two Gryffindor boys accepted Harry easily, chatting with him on their way to Transfiguration, talking about classes and teachers and other students, especially after Ron and Dean heard of the incident with Hermione back in History of Magic. Ron was incensed at the way the Gryffindor bookworm brushed the small raven-haired boy off so menacingly, even though Harry hadn't said anything harsh to her. It took quite a while for Dean and Harry to placate him, while Seamus amused himself by ideas of pranks to pull on the girl. 

At Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall pulled Harry aside to work with him alone, trying to grudge what level he should be placed at for her class. Having gotten a new wand from his parents earlier, Harry hadn't been sure about what would happen, but was pleasantly surprised when he found it was much easier than when he had been back in his home universe. McGonagall had been elated and awarded points to Gryffindor even though it was only his first day in class. 

The two hours of Transfiguration went by exceedingly fast despite the hostile glares that Hermione kept sending him every time McGonagall praised him or granted Gryffindor points. Harry surprised himself with the ease in which he performed spells in class, and how he was usually able to grasp the concept of a spell within the first try. The other three Gryffindor boys who had accepted him so easily cheered him on, also surprised at Harry's magic, but not commenting on it besides how there was finally someone who could beat Hermione in that class. 

Chatting and laughing loudly on their way to lunch, Harry once again felt a pang in his chest and looked behind in the Transfiguration classroom where Hermione was slowly putting away her books, giving Neville a small smile when he sent a worried look her direction. He was dragged away before he could see anything else. 

  
  


"That was really cool, Harry!" Ron had exclaimed when they reached the Great Hall. The redhead was nearly bouncing as he walked to Harry left, although not as bad at Seamus. The Irish boy in question _was_ bouncing around. "You showed _her_!! Ha! It's what she gets for being so rude to people all the time. She shouldn't have judged Harry before she knew him!" 

Harry gave a weak smile at the mention of his name, but didn't feel any better. He had a feeling that the Hermione of this world took much more pride in being the best student than the Hermione of his own world. "I don't think- " 

"She really had it coming." Seamus agreed quickly. He slapped Harry on the back and grinned at the smaller boy. "Good job, Harry!" 

Harry protested, "She doesn't seem that bad. She-" 

"Doesn't seem that bad?" Ron was shocked. "She's been humiliating us in our classes for years! Always so snobby… She's as bad as a Slytherin!" 

Harry shut his mouth as Ron said that, and immediately looked forward as they stepped into the Great Hall. There were much less people there than he remembered, and he guiltily realized that it was because of Voldemort. He remembered more students in first and second year, because parents had deemed it safe for children when Voldemort had been defeated and showed no signs of coming back. 

Misinterpreting his worried expression, Dean smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Harry. Everyone here is really friendly- and besides, we'll introduce you to people! Gryffindors stick by each other, eh?" There was a amused wink thrown for his benefit. 

_Gryffindors stick by each other? _ Harry gave a weak smile in return. _ What about Hermione? _

"Actually," he said, "I think I'll apologize to Miss Granger just the same." 

The other three immediately started protesting, pulling him to a far end of the Gryffindor table and away from the said girl. But Harry shook his head and said that he didn't want to make any enemies in the school on his first day, and turned to head towards Hermione's direction. 

"But you have nothing to apologize for!" Ron cried, trying a last time to get their new friend away from what they dubbed as the 'queen of hexes'. 

"Maybe not." Harry agreed. "But it never hurts to be sure." 

He walked towards a secluded section in the Gryffindor table and faintly heard Ron muse on the absence of a certain blonde Slytherin at lunch. He came to a stop before the brown hair girl, waiting for her to notice him and wondering just what he was going to say. 

Getting a semblance of his old group of friends back seemed a lot harder than he thought. Although he knew the Professors were all working on a way of getting him back home, they had more important matters to get tend to as well and might take a while before offering him any solutions on how to get him home. Besides, Harry was sure that James and Lily Potter were purposely putting off getting him home, and he didn't want to see his former friends so separated from each other when they had been so close before. 

After a few moments of poking at her food miserably, Hermione looked up and scowled at the sight of the new boy standing nervously before her. 

"I'm sorry if I offended you earlier," Harry tried, clasping his hands behind his back. He knew how Hermione was when she believed herself wronged, and didn't want to become a target of her anger. "I didn't mean to, and I didn't know that I would." 

Hermione seemed more than a little surprised at Harry's apology, and opened her mouth to deliver a sharp retort before seeing Harry's hesitant demeanor and fell silent. She flustered a bit, poking a bit at her food with her fork while she listened to the green-eyed boy seat himself beside her. 

"I guess I went a bit overboard earlier," she admitted reluctantly after a few moments, seeing that he wasn't going to go away. "And I'm sorry about that." 

"The way the others were talking about you, I'd say it was justified." Harry tried lightly. "I probably would have reacted the same way." 

Hermione eyed the boy wearily. He seemed too nice to be true, really. She didn't want to believe in what he said. She remembered when the boys pulled something like that on her in second year, trying to be her friend so they could have help with their homework. They had gotten into a fight then and Hermione had stormed off, and the three Gryffindor boys had never tried to approach her again. In fact, they avoided and taunted her throughout the years. 

Seeing that she wasn't going to respond to him, Harry continued, "I'm really not trying to insult you or anything." He thought furiously. "You just remind me of a really god friend at home. She always used to remind me to study or to be careful… she's one of the kindest people I know, but has quite a temper when someone's being an idiot." His lips quirked up into a strangely melancholy smile. "You seemed a lot like her." 

Hermione was amazed by the sincerity in Harry's statements, and she blinked at seeing the far off sadness in his smile. "What happened to her?" 

She felt his green eyes pierce through her, as if staring at someone who wasn't there. His gaze firmed and intense eyes met hers. 

"I don't know." He said honestly. "We… lost contact." 

She felt doubtful about that. When he had described the mystery girl, they had sounded close enough to be family. There was no way they could just lose contact. But she knew not to pry… yet. 

"I'm sorry," she offered, not knowing what else to say. She thought about that sad smile and came up with something quickly. "I always tutor Neville (he's in Gryffindor as well) a bit in the library on the weekdays after the last class and before dinner. Do you want to join us? I know it doesn't sound like much, but homework is usually done faster when there are more people around to help…" 

"Actually, I'd be glad to." Harry looked relieved at the offer. "How about we forget the earlier classes and start over again?" He held out a hand. "Hello. I'm Harry Potter. I'm very pleased to meet you." 

Hermione smiled lightly and took his offered hand. "I'm Hermione Granger. Pleased to make your acquaintance." 

Harry gave a brilliant smile.

  
  


Draco nudged Blaise in the arm when he saw the Gryffindor bunch walk into Herbology. His fellow Slytherin barely raised his eyes before he lowered them again, snorting in annoyance. But Draco continued to watch as a small form appeared after the forms of his Gryffindor foes. Surprisingly, the new boy in general was talking with Hermione Granger, who was nodding every few seconds. 

Draco's gray eyes narrowed as he followed the strange boy with his gaze over to the Gryffindor side and listened as the boy chuckled slightly to something that Ron Weasley said. He watched as the boy smiled at Dean Thomas, and said a few encouraging words to the groaning Seamus Finnigan. 

It was the same boy he had seen the day before, that much was sure. Those bright green eyes were unforgettable, and that tousled black hair stood out from all the neatly gelled order that was the trademark of almost all teenaged boys. 

Draco had heard the announcement that Professor Dumbledore gave at breakfast, of course. Everyone had, and there had been plenty of rumors about the new student running around school. But as he had not been in at lunch, he hadn't been able to see the reaction of the student population to the Potter boy. 

But the thing was, Professor Dumbledore had been talking about Harry Potter as the child of James and Lily Potter, yet Draco knew that he had clearly heard James Potter talk about someone who _claimed_ to be his son the day before. And while he had no doubt that the Harry Potter mentioned at breakfast was the same boy as the one in the Hospital Wing, there was something missing from the picture. 

And Draco intended to find it. 

It just had to be his luck that the mystery boy was in Gryffindor. He had planned on befriending the boy and trying to find out more about him, but now it was nearly impossible. Gryffindors and Slytherins just didn't associate that way. 

He hadn't even realized that he was staring at the Gryffindor boy when he saw Weasley lean over the raven-haired boy and whispered quite loudly, "Don't look now, but Malfoy's staring at you." 

Draco flushed and quickly turned away, turning his attention to hacking up the weeds surrounding the newest carnivorous plant that Professor Sprout wanted them to take care of. He saw Blaise look on curiously from the corner of his eye- it appeared that the other Slytherin had heard the Weasel's statement as well. 

"What are you talking about, Ron?" 

The bespectacled boy was looking in Draco's direction now, and the blonde boy gritted his teeth in irritation from Weasley's comments. The other boy had been his enemy ever since the beginning of school, and while Draco was reluctant to admit that it was his fault that they got off on the wrong foot, the redhead really knew how to keep a grudge. 

"It only means trouble, Harry." Ron was explaining. "Malfoy's a Slytherin. And the worst of the lot, as well." 

"What's wrong with Slytherins?" 

Draco nearly choked on nothing as he heard that naïve statement. Surely the other boy realized the reason why no one interacted with Slytherins except for other Slytherins? 

"What's wrong with Slytherins?" Ron echoed, sounded as disbelieving as Draco felt. "They're… blimey, Harry, they're Slytherins! They're deceitful and will do just about anything to get their way! They're biased and annoying! Horrible, lying, scheming, evil bastards! Monsters! Don't you know anything about Hogwarts, Harry?" 

"Of course I do." Harry sounded quite annoyed. "A lot more than you think I do, that's for sure. You really shouldn't judge people like that, Ron. I used to think something along those lines concerning Slytherins, but it's not true. You're being stereotypical. Not all Slytherins are like that. No one's as two-dimensional as that, Ron." 

Draco looked up, and noticed that the rest of the class was also paying attention to the exchange. When it was a Gryffindor-Slytherin class, everyone was paying attention to the topic. 

He was surprised to see the green-eyed boy leave the Gryffindor side in a huff and stalk over to the Slytherin side. He was even more surprised when the boy stopped at his side and looked him straight in the eyes. 

"Is it alright if I questioned you for a bit in front of everyone else?" The boy asked directly. "None of this should be embarrassing, but accessing." 

Draco could feel himself nodded, although he didn't exactly know why. 

"What's your name?" 

The Slytherin blinked. That was certainly direct. "Draco Malfoy, of course." 

The bespectacled boy ignored the arrogance placed into the answer. "Age?" 

Draco stared at the Gryffindor like he had three heads. "I'm in sixth year, just like everyone else here." 

"Fine. 16. Favorite subject?" 

"Potions." 

"A pastime? Favorite sport?" 

"Reading and playing Quidditch." 

"Anything in particular you dislike?" 

Draco peered at the other boy. That question could be used against him, yet it was vague enough for him to give a vague answer. "Red and gold." 

Green eyes flashed for a moment, but settled before Draco could acknowledge it. "Favorite animal?" 

Draco smirked. "Snakes." 

Harry nodded, as if satisfied. "A sixteen year old boy who attends Hogwarts, whose favorite subject is Potions, who likes reading and playing Quidditch. Dislikes the colors red and gold, and likes snakes. That certainly sounds more like a typical teenaged boy than a monster, don't you think?" 

The raven-haired boy eyed the students to let them know that what he said was addressed at the entire class. When he saw their stunned expressions, he nodded to himself and turned back the the blonde Slytherin. 

Harry calmly continued. "Hello Draco. I'm Harry Potter." 

It was one of the few times Draco was shocked into silence. 

  
  


Three years ago, he would have shocked himself by the performance he gave at Herbology. Yet knowing that he had gotten to be extremely good friends with Draco before, and perhaps something a bit more, Harry really wasn't surprised that he reacted in that manner when Ron accused all Slytherins of being monsters. It was something that Harry himself couldn't stand, having someone call Slytherins monsters. It was unfair that the rest of the school ostracized Slytherins because they were ambitious. 

It was no wonder that so many Slytherins had turned to the other side afterward. Harry dimly remembered how a small amount of kindness could change someone, especially those who did not expect this kindness. 

So it was because of that thought that Harry continued to ignore the whispers in the halls as he walked to Potions with the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin class. Half the sixth year Slytherin class was still in a state of shock, even after Herbology. The Gryffindors were giving Harry weary looks, although Hermione didn't seem to notice. She had been just as surprised as Harry when he had gone up to Draco, but she had supported what he did whole-heartedly. According to her, it should have been done long ago, but everyone let house rivalries blind him or her. 

Even so, it didn't stop the suspicious glances and dark whispers from going around. Befriending Hermione was one thing for the Gryffindors, but defending Slytherins was quite another thing. 

So Harry had expected to be left sitting alone in Potions, as Hermione had to sit next to Neville to make sure that he didn't do anything wrong in class. What he hadn't expected, however, was Blaise Zabini sliding into the seat next to him and smiling indulgently. 

It was the first time that Harry had really paid attention to Blaise, as Blaise had transferred to Durmstrang during the middle of fifth year, and he had never really gotten to know the other boy. But now that he was actually _looking_ at the other boy, Harry felt horrendously short. Not that he was short in any way- 173 cm was average height already. But the auburn-haired boy was nearly Ron's height and excreted confidence the same way that Draco did. 

"Here to tell me that I'm stupid for judging Slytherins like that?" Harry inquired, inching away from the other boy slightly, as he didn't know how Blaise would react. 

"I actually think you have very interesting views." Blaise admitted with a cocky grin. "A bit naïve, maybe, as you're ignoring the Slytherins who would be monsters." 

"I'm not ignoring them," Harry replied, folding his arms and forgetting the part about being naïve. "I just believe that everyone has reasons for doing something. There are cause and effects, and there are explanations for all of it." 

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Very muggle of you. You must remember that wizards have no use for science." 

"But you shouldn't let magic limit you," Harry quoted, remembering how Hermione had said that to Ron before. "According to muggles, magic is only a collection of the unexplained." 

Blaise stared at Harry for a moment before laughing. 

  
  


That day's Potions class had, to Harry's surprise, been a memorable one. Even though the dark-haired boy had been watching Draco from time to time, talking and laughing with Pansy Parkingson of all people, he had enjoyed getting to know Blaise Zabini. The other boy proved to be more than a bit interesting, switching rapidly from subject to subject, involving himself in pointless arguments with the Gryffindor boy. And Professor Snape had been much nicer to him, much nicer to everyone in general according to Harry's shaky memories. 

Perhaps it was because he hadn't been working for Voldemort anymore. Harry had been shocked to learn that Severus Snape and Lily Potter were extremely good friends, all throughout school and the war. And that Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were best friends. 

Harry had found himself asking Hermione if she minded a few more people in the study sessions before inviting both Blaise and Draco along. Luckily the others hadn't heard, as they were shocked enough that a Gryffindor could get along with two Slytherins. 

For some reason, Harry felt comfortable talking with Draco and Blaise. He wasn't sure why, but he figured it was part of a memory that he still hadn't recovered. There were still so many blurred images in his mind that he couldn't fit together yet, so he didn't worry about that too much. 

  
  


End part 4

**Authoress's Rambles:** Waah, this took too long. ^^;; I had actually written the chapter much longer, and there were also a lot more Blaise and Harry interaction- before I realized that their relationship was blurry the Draco/Harry one out. I also had to start this chapter four times... as I started it with James and Harry talking- but then I realized it didn't really fit in with this chapter. So the next chapter will be about James and Lily, and what happened with them while Harry was in class. ^__^  
Wow! To all the people who reviewed chapter 3, **Phoenix353**, **Shinigami**, **kcgal**, **mandraco**, **Death Eater**, **Ryllis**, **Saya-Sato**, **Kanashimi**, **Lily Evens Potter Black Lupin** (long name! ^_^), **kk**and **Milla**. Also to _suzaku no hi_ on AIM. Thanks for waiting so long, especially all those who reviewed before! I went through a million plot changes, and I'm still not sure if Harry will stay in this universe or not, although I can say that he's going back home to see what happened later. I'm sorry for grammer mistakes ^^;;, it's just that a beta is somewhat hard to keep track if given my schedule. Yes, Harry is friends with Draco back in his home universe, but he currently doesn't remember how close. ^_~ Thank you for all the encouragement through this! Finals was nerve-wreaking... O.o;; And to kcgal, I might continue on my G-Wing stuff, but only to finish two of my stories. 

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	5. Continuation of the first day

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

This is going be the lighter than I thought because even _I_ felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
"James?" 

Lily entered the room quietly, her footsteps making not a sound as she made her way over to the oversized chair that her husband was currently resting in, his face buried within his hands. She pursed her lips in a moment of contemplation before kneeling before the man she loved, letting her hands slowly tug at his so that she could see his face. She wanted to know what he was thinking… needed to see his eyes. 

James gave in to the gentle tugs after a few moments, not wanting to disappoint Lily, yet also not wanting her to find his internal battles. She already had enough to think about… he didn't want to add to her burden. Especially when she needed to figure things out for herself as well. 

"I know that you're feeling confused right now." Lily said sincerely. "It's the same feeling that I'm experiencing, if a bit more negative. You don't know what to do now, don't understand what's going on and the consequences this is going to bring. I know you, James. You won't act unless you're completely sure about something, and you're too confused right now to see the entire picture." 

"And I suppose that you can see the entire picture?" James asked, and grimaced when he realized it sounded a lot harsher than he intended it to be. Thankfully, Lily paid that no heed as she cupped his face in her hands. "This… this is just too personal, Lily-love. It's not just the fact that I don't understand what's going on here… I also don't understand why. Who is this person who claims to be our son? If him being here is such a blessing, such a _miracle_, then why isn't our own son alive today? Why must something like this happen? 

"This… doesn't make sense. It's so complicated. Instead of our son, we have someone who we don't know. You might think that this is a good omen, Lily, but I just don't understand…" James struggled for words. "I don't understand why Harry had to die in the first place just to get replaced by someone from somewhere else!" 

"Maybe it doesn't have any connection at all." Lily suggested, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Maybe we were just caught up in all this, that's all. Just dragged along for the ride. It doesn't all have to be about fate or a set course of destiny. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with us at all. But we should be glad that we _are_ involved in this." She smiled up at him, seeing his eyes focus on her with a fierce intensity that hadn't been there for months. "I mean… I remember wishing to see Harry again the day before Dumbledore called us in. I remember wanting to know what Harry would be like had he survived, had lived to be sixteen. Would he be dating someone? Playing pranks? How would the professors take to him? I wanted to know… and now I get the chance." 

She carefully stood up, pulling James up with her. Looking at him intently, she continued. "So you should see why I think this is a miracle. You can't tell me that you haven't wished for the same thing… that you hadn't wanted to see what Harry would be like… how he could grow up. It might not be the same as the real thing, but at least we have the chance to see a possibility of what could have happened. I… want to know if his favorite color is still a deep Prussian blue." 

James made a small noise, reminiscent of something between a choke and a cry. Looking at his beautiful wife now, he remembered the madness that resided within Lily. Remembered her screams of grief and horror when she found out that her son had been kidnapped, had been killed. 

Looking at her smiling eyes now, he felt the slightest tinge of fear for her. She looked so happy, so much happier than she had looked for years. 

"I don't know how to act around him." James admitted, still staring at Lily's green eyes. "He's not our son… we know this, and he knows this. You can tell that he knows this by the way he looks at us." 

"Act natural, then. Act supportive." Lily wrapped her arms around James's shoulders and pulled him look to her. "Act whatever you want to act, whatever you feel like. Don't be fake just for him. How would you have acted if you had a teenaged son? Don't think about _how_ you're going to act around him, just act." 

"You say that so easily, Lily…" 

She gave off a small laugh as she rested her head on his shoulder, his arms coming up automatically to surround her. "But it _is_ easy. You'll see." 

And not for the first time, James worried for his wife's sanity; hoping that she would survive this experience unscathed. 

Because not only did he remember her grief ten years ago, but he also remembered the crazed massacres of Death Eaters, and how the Potter name had gotten to be so feared by the Dark. It was a well-known fact that if the Auror Lily Potter caught a Death Eater, they had no chance of survival. 

  
  


Remus had watched his partner pace along the inside of the Headmaster's office for long enough. He would have been the one to fight and die alongside Sirius, as his trust in his partner was nothing but explicit, but he would be the one to throttle said partner if the man didn't stop that nervous pacing! 

"Would you _please_ stop that, Sirius?" Remus said through gritted teeth. The sentence would have contained many swear words in it had it not been for Dumbledore's presence, as the Headmaster was smiling widely at Sirius's blatant concern. 

"I don't understand why we had to be called out of a mission." Sirius was ranting, completely ignoring Remus' pleas for sanity. His pacing only became fast as he continued, making Remus wonder if his friend would have to pay to get the floor replaced soon- he was wearing it down so fast. "And… called out not because there's something wrong with James and Lily." He stopped for a moment, staring at Professor Dumbledore. "You're _sure_ there's nothing wrong with James and Lily?" 

It was always that way, especially after Peter's death. Sirius had blamed himself, berating himself about just getting there a little bit earlier, taking out a few more Death Eaters… but he kept to the honor that Peter had died protecting his friends. And Sirius had taken it upon himself to make sure that no other Marauder would be hurt in the war. 

"James and Lily are fine, Sirius." Dumbledore reassured him again, looking as if he were hiding a smile. "If not more than fine, in fact." 

Remus' interest grew. "What do you mean, Headmaster?" 

The partners had been called off a secret mission just the day before with an urgent message for them to appear at Hogwarts. The message was vague enough to make sure that anyone who intercepted the letter would know nothing of what was going on, but it also made sure that Sirius and Remus didn't know what was going on either. 

And so they had gotten to Hogwarts as soon as possible and had been sitting in the Headmaster's office (or in Sirius' case, pacing) for the last three hours. 

"It's something for them to tell you, I'm sure." Dumbledore replied gravely, but smiling nevertheless. "A… miracle, if I do interpret Lily's words correctly." 

"Miracle…?" Remus questioned, only to hear the quiet knock on the door. 

"Come in!" Professor Dumbledore called out cheerfully. In fact, more cheerfully than Remus could remember in the last year or so. 

"Professor…? Oh! Remus! Sirius!" 

Both Sirius and Remus were shocked as they were bombarded with quiet hugs from Lily Potter, whom they remembered as quiet and unobtrusive for the last few years. She was beaming at them, eyes filled with a light that hadn't been there for years, they were sure. 

"You really _are_ here!" She was proclaiming, taking the hand of each one of her childhood friends. James appeared behind her, looking tired but peaceful nevertheless. 

Remus and Sirius both shared a look. What in the world was going on here? 

"I suppose you haven't heard the news yet," she was gushing, green eyes shining with happiness. She stole a look at Dumbledore, and beamed even more when he shook his head, indicating that he hadn't told them yet. 

"We got an urgent call in yesterday," Sirius said, looking quite shocked at Lily's mood. "We figured something was wrong and came immediately…" 

"Oh, nothing's wrong." Admonished Lily. She was nearly spinning with delight, and both Remus and Sirius could easily see James watching her worriedly. "In fact, everything's going right for a change!" 

"Well, then," Remus said, wondering if he had to pick at words around her again, just like everyone had to do ten years ago. "What happened to make you so exited?" 

She stopped her movements and smiled gently at him, reminding him greatly of a young girl who she hadn't been for the last ten years. "What's happened? Why, Harry's back, of course!" 

  
  


Harry watched amusedly as Blaise leaned over the table to tease Hermione, the boy waggling his eyebrows suggestively. They had finished their homework ages ago, seeing that almost everyone studying were extremely smart, and if anyone had trouble with one class, someone else would be a whiz in it. 

The only problem barring, of course, was that he had to stop Draco and Blaise from hexing Neville just for the heck of it. Despite the fact that he remembered being friends with Slytherins, he also remembered just they loved to torment those who couldn't exactly defend themselves. He remember having to physically push Draco away from- 

"What do you think, Harry?" 

Harry blinked furiously for a moment, barely caught up in what was happening. He stared at Blaise, who gave him an expectant smile. "I'm sorry- think of what?" 

Draco managed to snort while writing down some test notes for Potions, and Harry tilted his head to look at the blonde boy. "He was talking about how he thinks that Granger and the Weasel would make a good couple." 

Harry blinked, and Neville shifted uncomfortably from where he sat besides Hermione, whose hand was twitching at the mere thought. 

"Hermione and Ron?" He questioned, and pretended to take a long time pondering this. Well… he was a bit biased. He had already seen the two together romantically, after all, and he personally thought that it worked out just great. "It could work." 

Hermione gave a squawk of surprise and threw her quill at him, while Blaise roared in laughter at Harry's agreement. Draco had to hide a smirk as he leaned closer to Harry and whispered that he hadn't _seen_ how those two fight. Harry only rolled his eyes, not telling Draco that he _had_ seen the two of them dish it out before, many, many times. And it was usually about him. 

But he only laid down his parchment, and stretched, enjoying the cooling of the outside air. The small group had been kicked out of the library not long before they finished their homework, due to Harry yelling at the Slytherins to not pick on Neville so much. While the Slytherins had gracefully backed down due to Harry's wishes, Neville had only become more withdrawn, stealing nervous glances at Harry every few seconds. 

The raven-haired Gryffindor almost itched to smack someone, most likely the two Slytherins that were sitting next to him. Those two had been complaining about sitting on the grass from the very beginning, until Hermione finally got tired of their whining and conjured up a few benches. Harry finished off the act by creating a table, so that they would have to write on their laps. 

Yet after the whole session was over… it had gotten to the teasing. Inwardly, Harry was extremely pleased that everyone would get along this well. He was almost sorry that he hadn't invited Ron, Seamus, and Dean as well. But outwardly, he was starting to get tired of the entire name-calling and innuendoes. 

"Ronald Weasley has to be the most irresponsible, careless slob out there in the universe!" Hermione was exclaiming. Harry almost grinned. He recognized that tone. It was the same tone that she would use on him and Ron when she lectured them or scolded them. It meant she was only faking her anger, but was actually enjoying her company. 

"But think of it, 'Mione," Harry said with a grin. "Opposites attract, right? And the school slob going out with the smartest and most organized witch at Hogwarts certainly doesn't seem so far-fetched." 

She threw him a withering glare, but fell silent at that. What could she say against that compliment/insult? 

"What do you think, Neville?" Harry asked, determined to bring the shy, quiet boy into the conversation. "Don't you think that Ron and Hermione would make a good couple?" 

"They'd probably kill each other off within days-" Blaise was silenced by a hard nudge in the ribs by Harry. 

Neville looked around, quite nervous at the attention he was getting and the pleasant smile on Harry's face. Well… Headmaster Dumbledore _did_ say that Harry Potter was in Gryffindor, right? And if he could tame the Slytherins who had been plaguing him since first year, well… 

"It's… plausible." Neville admitted, not really thinking about it. 

"Traitor!" Hermione gave Neville a friendly swat on the shoulder, and shook her head at him. "Why in the world are we talking about my love life anyway?" 

"Because we're sad, sad people?" Blaise suggested. 

"What about you, then, Zabini?" Hermione said, turning the tables on the auburn-haired Slytherin. "Do _you_ have someone special?" 

Blaise sniffed with dignity while Draco tried to contain his laughter. It was easy to see that the russet-eyed boy didn't have anyone at the moment. "I have someone _in mind_." He said carefully, tossing a grin over at Harry. "What do you say, Harry? Feel like taking a ride with a Slytherin?" He leered at the smaller boy. 

Had Harry been eating anything, he would have choked and probably died due to that comment. Fortunately, he had only been copying notes from Draco and the only reaction from the jab was his widened eyes. "Very funny, Blaise." He managed out weakly. 

Draco was frowning at his Slytherin friend while Blaise managed to fake a look of extreme hurt before turning back to Hermione. "Don't you worry," he told her. "I'll snag him yet." 

"And you, Malfoy?" Hermione managed to ask before Blaise could say anything more, effectively changing the conversation slightly. "Anyone you have in mind?" 

The blonde looked at her dumbly for a second before shaking his head slightly. "I'd like to think that if I wanted someone, I wouldn't be the number one bachelor at school." He grinned. 

"What?" Harry asked, pretending to be taken aback. "No Pansy Parkinson as a girlfriend?" 

Both Draco and Blaise looked slightly sick at that one. 

"Pansy?" Draco exclaimed after a moment of gagging. "She's like… my sister! It's bad enough that our parents want us to be sweet on each other, but honestly…" He hesitated. "Do we act like we're together? Because honestly, we're not. She's just…" He struggled for words there. 

"Just…?" Harry coaxed, nudging the blonde teasingly. 

"…Like a sister." Draco finished lamely. 

Harry smiled, somehow feeling quite relieved. Then he turned to Neville and asked, "What about you? Anyone special in your line of sight?" 

Neville sputtered for a moment before Hermione replied for him, eyes twinkling. "I reckon Neville is sweet on Ron's sister Ginny." 

As if proving what she said, Neville blushed deeply. 

"Well, good for you, Neville!" Harry encouraged. "You seem the have the first answer that actually points to someone. Not like everyone else, who doesn't know who they like." 

"I'm certain of who I like!" Blaise protested, and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. 

The green-eyed boy managed to make a face at Blaise before shaking the arm off. 

"What about you, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Did you leave a sweetie behind to come to Hogwarts?" Her tone was sickeningly sweet, but Harry felt nervous nevertheless. 

"A sweetie?" 

_"I'm just worried about you, love." Soft kisses on the brow. "You're getting careless. You do remember how much I love you, don't you? How I can't live without you?" _

A quiet laugh. "Don't be so over-dramatic, Drake. We're just teenagers." 

"But I mean it." A kiss. "You fighting Voldemort scares me, Harry. What would you do if I were the one to face the Dark Lord?" 

"I probably wouldn't let you out of my sight." 

"Then you would understand how I feel." Hands gripped tightly, fingers entwined. Nose to nose, breaths mingling. "I would never have thought it a year ago, but… I love you too much to live without you. When this all blows over, if we both survive…" the thought was left hanging, not daring to hope but hoping just the same. 

A silence. Then a sigh. 

"I love you, Draco. I don't know what I would do without you." A soft touch. "I wouldn't be able to live without you either." 

"…Harry? Are you alright?" 

Harry startled at the light touch on his shoulder, and stared back up at concerned gray eyes. He blinked, trying to clear the moisture in his eyes. A connection with his past… 

"Yeah, I'm alright." He smiled. "I just remembered something, that's all." 

It was at that moment that Draco and Harry were staring at each other that they heard Lily Potter call out for her son. Harry looked up immediately and his smiled wavered for an instant before strengthening again at seeing his parents. He stood up from where he sat on the benches, and waved to where James and Lily were, as well as a large black dog. 

As both James and Lily came over, Harry could see the shock on James' face at seeing the Slytherin badges on both the boys that sat besides his son, and Lily beamed brightly at Harry's quiet smile and enthusiastic wave. 

"Padfoot!" Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of the large dog, and he left the table as Blaise protested. The dog in question backed away, bewildered by Harry's recognition of him. Padfoot let out a low, warning growl as Harry got closer, making everyone else tense up. 

"Pad…foot?" Harry paused at the dark menace in the dog's eyes, and then his memory came back to him, letting him know that he wasn't home, that things were different here. With that thought, the happy and expectant light in his eyes dimmed and he withdrew his reaching arms. 

Lily saw that immediately and reached over for her pseudo-son. She wrapped over arms around him gently and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Harry. Padfoot just hasn't seen you in a while, that's all." 

But Harry's eyes were fixed on the large dog, and he stared with wonder at the distrust and suspicion in those watery depths. Sirius had never looked at him like that before, with such obvious dislike. The look was… alien to Harry. 

You'd think, he thought to himself bitterly as he continued watching those eyes. You'd think that after a few days of that, I would get used to it. 

Lily was pulling away from him, her smile never lessening as she looked him over. "How about you say good-night to your friends for right now? Your dad and I wanted to talk to you for a bit…" 

Slowly, Harry forced his eyes to focus back to his mother, back to someone who he had only met a week ago, yet he knew her face better than his own. 

She brushed his hair away from his glasses, an act which would have embarrassed most sixteen-year-olds had Harry grown up with affectionate relatives. Yet he only blinked at the tenderness and marveled at how he looked more like her than most people thought. 

Everyone had always remarked on his uncanny appearance to his father, and barely ever commented on his mother. Before, he had only known that he got his eyes from his mother, but now standing up close- he could see he inherited much more from her than previously thought. 

There were both about the same height, Harry's small and lithe physic coming from her. Their bone structures matched almost exactly, them both looking small boned and deceptively fragile. And while he had most of his father's features, as well as the messy black hair, Harry could see that they had the same curve of the cheek, the same hands, and the same quiet movements. It was… enlightening to see their similarities. At the same time, it made his heart ache even more. 

She was still beaming at him, taking in his features as much as he was taking in hers. Harry had the distinct feeling of nervousness, but that was only faintly impressed in the back of his mind. 

"We want to know all about your first day at Hogwarts, of course." She smiled brightly at him, eyes wandering over the faint lightning shaped scar on his forehead before dismissing it for later talks. She had noticed it before, had noticed the huge amount of power gathered in that scar, sometimes leaking out with magic. But as it was mostly covered by the messy bangs, she ignored it for the moment. "And there will be a lot to tell your Godfather about as well." 

  
  


End part 4

**Authoress's Rambles:** After three KrispyKreme dounuts and two cups of tea, I finally got off my lazy ass to write the transitions for chapter 5. For some reason, I really love playing Lily off as semi-insane. But anyway, you can see in this chapter that Harry's starting to remember things- especially his love life. *waggles eyebrows* I'm sorry about not writing about Ron more... I swear he'll be included more in later chapters, but right now I don't think he approves very much of Slytherins. But it _is_ included in my side-story! (which was out long ago) And as a last comment... I love Blaise. I really do. XD The reviews are... astonding me.... O_O To **ash muse**, **Stormy1x2** *gasp* I love your Gundam stories..., **Slytherin Psyche**, **tdei** *hugs*, **Phoenix353**, **Aditya**, **linds**, **marguerite**, **Lady Phoenix Gryffindor**, **mandraco**, **Naraelien G. Endiliste**, **AlexaDonaghy**, and **TeeDee**!! Thanks for so much encouragement (and occasional bribery from tdei ^^;;) I'm sorry about the spelling mistakes, as my last beta went on a long vacation and I can't reach her currently... ;_;. And the fire and water references will be explained in later time. *wink* You're on the right path, though, tdei!

Hints for next chapter: James and Harry finally have their talk... a certain snake makes a guest appearance, and Harry's starting to get nervous around Draco because of the flashbacks he gets... Dumbledore also gets strange news from McGonagall, and Sirius, Remus, and Lily have a Talk.

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	6. Where we meet a certain snake

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... *waves off* I know that already, dammit. Only the idea belongs to me, and I can hardly remember when the idea started floating around in my head. And I'm writing this when I should be doing math homework... ^^;;;

This is going be the lighter than I thought because even _I_ felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^ But just to warn you- it's a pretty sad/disturbing Draco/Harry. 

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
It was shortly after Lily left the two of them with a smile and a wink that things began to feel extremely uncomfortable. Almost as if a tension had built up the moment that she left- or maybe had been there all along, but had been held at bay by Lily. But after Harry had said good night to his newfound (or was it old…?) friends, Lily had dragged Padfoot away from the scruff of his neck and smiled at them, leaving father and son to their much-needed talk. 

After all, the last true conversation that they had (and the first, to think of it) had been in the infirmary where James had accused Harry of being a Death Eater in disguise. So it wasn't unexpected that it would be hard to start up a conversation again. 

So the two of them had walked in an awkward silence near the Forbidden Forest, glancing at each other every few seconds only to feel even more nervous about talking to each other. Neither of them really knew what to say to each other, only knowing that they had to somehow heal the gap created, even before Harry had arrived. 

The scene they walked in held a false tranquility in the bright colors of the setting sun. Watching the clouds drift past with the meandering wind, Harry was once again struck by how strange it was that it was still so beautiful in a world where Voldemort had never gone. He had always expected death and destruction as a result, considering that all the elder wizards and witches had told him of what dark times Voldemort reigned. 

Yet the world was still as beautiful (even more so, it seemed!) than the one he remembered. It was almost like a collapsing dream, a fading fantasy that he had made for himself in denial over the fact that he was fighting Voldemort. In fact, he almost believed that theory when in came in mind. Was this reality created by his imagination? Because he was in denial? 

But if that were the case, what was he in denial over? He had faced Voldemort for many years, and this had never happened before. 

Staring at the reddish gold color of the setting sun, Harry was once again reminded of the burning flames that constant surrounded him, making him freeze in their absence. He shivered slightly, rubbing his arms absentmindedly as he dwelled on the thought of his still healing burns. 

James had been watching, and his eyes flickered in concern for a moment before the look faded away. It was confusing for him to watch someone who looked so much like him with a magnitude of expressions that had never crossed the elder man's face before. Such hollowness not unlike the hopelessness that he felt at certain times, yet different as well. So much joy in laughter and seeing a familiar face, yet the doubt that the person before them was real. 

"I'm sorry." 

The words were spoken so softly that James almost missed it, even though the area that they were walking in was disturbingly silent. He startled a bit, staring at the boy inductively through styled spectacles. He wanted to ask why Harry was sorry, what he had done to make him sorry. 

"This must be really hard on everyone." The boy was still staring up at the sky, the colors reflecting off his glasses. 

For a moment, James felt bad for thinking the boy to be guilty of something he did. "It's not your fault." 

"What if it is?" Harry tilted his head to the side, eyes that were so much like Lily's staring at the man who was supposedly his father. "I don't remember anything of the last year or so. What if something I did caused this? That I somehow came here willingly, and how everyone else is suffering for it." 

James sombered deeply at that. "Not everyone is suffering. There are many people who think that your coming here is a blessing." 

"But for the most part, I'm not wanted here." Harry shook his head before James could respond. "I know what people are thinking. Mom… _Lily_, thinks of me as someone else. Someone I'm not. Sirius is suspicious of me, and thinks that I'm here to foul up the plans of the Light. Professor Dumbledore probably hasn't made any decisions yet, although he claims to trust me." 

He looked James straight in the eyes. "And you don't want me here either. You don't know what to make of me." 

"That's not exactly true." James defended himself, feeling unnerved that the boy could predict so much. But still, he was wrong to a certain extent. "I'll admit that I don't know what to think of you- that you do understand what people's reactions to you have been for the most part. But it doesn't mean that I don't want you here. I _am_ confused. I don't understand how something like this could have happened, how you could have appeared. But it doesn't mean that I would condemn you because of that." 

Harry was silent. 

James sighed, running a hand through his unruly black hair. This was going to be just as hard as he thought… "I… I always believed that everything happened for a reason, just as Lily used to believe that no one could be completely evil. It was just something to carry me though the war, you understand? I always thought that somehow every action and retribution led to something greater. That perhaps we were just part of a greater picture, that's all. 

"It was what I believed in when my son died. That perhaps it had something to do in the greater scheme of things. That he wasn't just a victim of war, but someone special- and had been a part of the tangled web that we believe to be fate. Lily doesn't believe that, but she never argued with me on it. Just like I never argued with her on her beliefs. I had thought that perhaps Harry… my son, had been a catalyst to something. That maybe in given time, his death meant the end of the war." 

Harry looked uneasy, not wanting to say anything to that belief. Such a morbid thought… that everything you did led up to something else, meaning that your actions were being controlled. But he supposed that in times of war, one would be able to push off grief and responsibilities to Fate. It was just easier to explain all the things one did… all the things that happened. 

_"Do you believe in Destiny, Harry?" _

A pause in the scratching of a quill on rough parchment. "Professor?" 

"Destiny, Harry. That our actions are dictated by a higher power, and that everything that happens was meant to be." 

"I… can't say that I do, Professor Dumbledore." 

Blue eyes turned to him, partially masked behind half-moon spectacles, it's amusement obvious. "And why not, Harry?" 

The quill was set down for a moment of contemplation. "Because I don't like the idea that everything I do is already pre-destined." 

A twinkle. "Wouldn't it sound more romantic and accepting for your friends if you could tell them you believe that you and Draco were destined to be together?" 

A blush. "I suppose so… if I believed that." 

"So you don't believe it?" 

"No, sir." A hesitation. "I think… that I'd rather say I fell in love instead of the love being predestined. Destiny makes everything sound so… empty. Like you don't mean it. It makes everything that a person strives and works for sound so meaningless. If you're meant for something, it would happen no matter what." 

"Ah, I suppose you are right." A small smile. "But it was an interesting concept, was it not? Especially to those people who actually do believe in it…" 

"I can't speak for those people, Professor. They have their own reasons for their beliefs." 

"…That they do, Harry. That they do." 

"You believe in Destiny, then?" Harry asked. 

James was surprised by the question, but no less happy that he had successfully gotten a conversation going. "I wouldn't put it so drastically. I think that Destiny means _everything_ we do was meant to be… but I don't believe that. I just think that our actions lead to a greater cause, that is all. That way all our actions, whether it is good or bad, mean something." 

Harry looked away again when he saw something flash in the edge of his peripheral vision. He didn't want to be the one to tell the person who could have been his father that he didn't believe in anything of the sort, because he thought of Destiny or any version of it to be an excuse for not atoning for one's actions. It wasn't his belief to criticize, after all. 

"Maybe it's not the best idea to base life on, yes. But it makes thing so-" James also startled for a moment, having noticed something moving. "What in the world-?" 

It was barely a moment later when Harry was shoved violently towards the ground and he heard the sound of smoothness like silk sliding over silk. 

  
  


The moment that the door slammed behind him, Sirius had no doubt that he was in more than deep shit. It didn't matter that he was still in dog form, or the fact that Moony looked completely shocked to see both him and Lily back so early without James or Harry. He felt more than saw Lily's furious expression even before he got back, and the scruff of his neck still hurt from how hard she was dragging him. 

"Lily?" Remus exclaimed, shocked. "What happened-?" 

"That _idiot_," Lily hissed, leaning against the door and pointing an accusing finger at Padfoot, "ruined everything!" 

Sirius changed back quickly, feeling that if he were to ever defend himself, barking at her would only cause to make her even more livid. And as much as he loved his best friend's wife and knew that they could never stay mad at each other long, he didn't feel light getting into an all out fight. Probably because Lily never held back in any of those fights, and he really didn't want to visit the Hospital Wing anytime soon. 

"I think I have a right to be cautious here!" Sirius protested, voice tense after the experience he just had. Seeing someone whom he had buried and grieved over coming towards him wasn't exactly the best memory of his life. 

"Being cautious is one thing, but being utterly _cruel_ is _another_!" Lily's voice was only raising, with no intention of backing down. Her eyes flashed a brilliant green as she fisted her hands, refusing to take her frustration out on Sirius in any way other than verbally. 

Remus looked confused now. 

"You shouldn't trust so easily, Lily!" Sirius was shouting, her own anger and frustration building up. He had, after all, spent the entire day before worrying over his friends, and he wanted a reason for all that worry. "He could be a Death Eater in disguise! He could be a walking time bomb! He could have spells on him that would allow Voldemort to see through his eyes, or hear through his ears! He's most likely here to get information out of us, or to blunder, hinder, and shock us! You _hate_ Death Eaters, Lily, I know you. Yet just because one of them donned your dead son's form doesn't mean for you to trust-" 

Lily was across the room before either man could register her moving. 

SLAP! 

Remus was frozen to the spot, kind brown eyes widened considerably. He knew he should help Sirius… or even try to calm Lily down. But at the moment, he wasn't exactly sure what good he could possibly do if he interrupted the scene. As much as Lily shouldn't have slapped Sirius (especially so hard, and with such good aim), Sirius should never have said anything like that either. 

"You," Lily started with barely contained fury, eyes focused on Sirius's shocked face, and absentmindedly noting the redness that was starting to blossom on his cheek. "Will not talk about Harry like that. You might know the facts… I might have told you what happened… but you don't _understand_ the situation! You don't understand…" Her eyes were tearing up. "You don't understand what this means to me… you _can't_ understand how I _know_ that Harry isn't working for Voldemort. 

"I _know_ it, Sirius. Call it a woman's intuition… or even better, call it a _mother's_ intuition. But I know that Harry would never work for Voldemort, whether he were raised by me or my sister." Tears were actively running down her cheeks now. "You don't understand how much I've longed for something like this to happen, Siri…" 

All the anger seemed to drain out of Sirius at those words, and he visibly slumped, looking very tired. "I know a little bit, Lily. I loved Harry as well. But… Wishes don't come true like that. Miracles like that never happen." 

"If miracles like that doesn't happen, what does?" Lily challenged, eyes still wet with tears. "Have we finally sunk so low that we would be so suspicious of good news? That we would turn our backs to the _chance_ of something good happening? Have we forgotten _magic_?" 

"We haven't forgotten magic." Remus stated quietly from where he was standing, taking in the scene before him. "But Sirius is right… something like that just doesn't happen." 

"But can't you believe? Even for a moment? For me?" She pleaded. 

"It could mean your death, Lily." Sirius said. "It could mean the deaths of us all." 

The redhead was silent for a moment, before speaking strongly. "You used to say that I was too selfless. That I believed too much in the good of people and that I always put the welfare of my friends and family above myself. Well, now allow me to be a little selfish. If you can't believe in miracles… then believe in _me_. And allow me to take full responsibility for this situation. Not because I'm putting other people before myself, but because I want this. I _need_ this. 

"If you can't trust in Harry, then trust in me." 

  
  


It was the sound of hissing that brought Harry out of his dazed confusion. His mind suddenly went clear as pain blossomed from where his body had hit the floor. His head banged sharply against the hard soil of the much-used road as he gritted his teeth from the light that flashed underneath his eyelids. He was dimly aware of his glasses cracking, and the arms of said glasses pressing painfully against his temples. 

He could feel a large weight pressing down on his back, the only thing registering from that being the painful pressure on his spine and ribs. He also heard James' startled cry from where the man was standing a foot or so away. 

_Shit_, his mind processed, understanding danger even if he didn't. And knowing how hard it would be to move- the disadvantage he was placed in. _Shit, shit, shit! _

The weight shifted as that hissing sound came again, clear and threatening. 

_Myturfmylandinvadersinvadersinvaders_

James' sharp intake of breath came before his yelled out a random spell, knocking whatever it was off him in moments. 

_Nonononomyplacefinallyleavemealonejustleavemealone_

Harry was up in an instant despite the pain in his body, and he gazed dazedly through cracked glass. His hand was at his wand in an instant, and his eyes widened when he saw the large snake that had attacked him just a moment before. Large and tense, the hissing coming off as a warning to those who dared to approach it. 

But the snake looked so familiar… 

"Harry," James was saying in a low, quiet voice, pushing the boy back behind him. "Are you alright?" Brown eyes stayed on the hissing serpent, as if daring it to come closer. 

Harry winced as he wiped a few drops of blood from his forehead. It was just a small cut on his hairline, but was bleeding profusely. Figures- head injuries always gave him the most trouble. 

"I'm fine." He said, wiping his hand on his robes. The other hand held on firmly to his new wand, and he stared at the snake that was hissing so loudly at them. 

_Nagini. _

"Damned snakes." James was muttering, raising his wand and about to banish the creature. 

_Badbadbadnonomustleavebabieswillworrywillbeindanger…_

"Wait!" Harry cried, holding on to James' arm. "I think… I think we're on her territory… her grounds. That's what she attacked us. All we have to do is back away, that's all." Green eyes settled on the large snake, willing her to calm down. He didn't want to speak in Parseltongue before James, didn't want people to start suspecting him of anything again… not when suspicions were still abound anyway. 

There were several black shapes that slithered up to Nagini, making the mother snake look extremely protective. 

Harry tugged on James' sleeve impatiently, not wanting the man to hurt any of the snakes. There was a reason that Nagini had attacked him, after all. And all he wanted to know was why Lord Voldemort's trusted pet was doing on Hogwarts grounds- with children, no less! 

James looked frustrated and worried, but lowered his wand. However, his grip on it remained tight enough to turn his knuckles white as he backed away slowly from the large, hissing snake. Harry did the same thing, promising himself that he would try to look into this later. If Nagini was working for Voldemort and was listening into things said by the students at Hogwarts… 

"Let's get you to the Hospital Wing," was all James said once they were far enough away from the giant snake for them to relax. 

  
  


Dumbledore sighed deeply as he gazed out of his office window. The sunset was producing many brilliant colors that reflected off various magical objects in the room. And with Fawkes perching peacefully on his stand, doing nothing but trimming his feathers, a normal person could be deceived into thinking of peaceful times. After all, the picture was near perfect. 

But it was not so. And now in the past week, there had been an added complication. A newcomer to an almost familiar game of dodge and chase. And while Albus Dumbledore held the newcomer as a good omen to this war, he was still weary of the boy. There was something… powerful about him. 

A curt knock on the door broke his thoughts as he cheerfully called out a, "Come in!" to the person. It wouldn't make do, after all, for the rest of the school to see him so troubled by recent events. Hogwarts had never really been a part of the war, despite the fact that it was headquarters to an important fraction of it. The students had always been sheltered, never really learning of the horrifying experiences until they either received letters of mourning or left to school only to be shocked by the carnage they found outside. 

Minerva McGonagall looked more than prim and proper as she entered, as if she hadn't just suffered through a day of teaching teenagers who were more than likely daydreaming rather than paying attention to her class. 

"Albus." She spoke, walking up to his desk in a brisk manner, giving an acknowledging nod to Fawkes. "I have some… well, startling to say the least, and a little disturbing I'm sure, news." She paused for a moment, looking hesitant to really say something. 

"What is it, Minerva?" The Headmaster had turned his attentions on her, eyes looking much more troubled than they ought to be as he concocted various situations in his mind. But then he shook his thoughts off, for the situation at hand certainly couldn't be as bad he could imagine. 

"Well, this could be good news," Minerva admitted. "It's about the Potter boy… has anyone taken him to get his wand?" 

"Why, no, I believe not." The professor smiled slightly in remembrance. "I believe that James Potter just handed him an old wand that had been lying around in the practice rooms… to make sure he couldn't really do anything to hurt anyone. Though I don't think the boy noticed it was a practice wand." 

The Transfigurations teacher looked even more perturbed at that. "Are you sure…?" 

"Quite sure." Albus nodded. "Why, whatever is the matter?" 

"I have… so rarely seen someone who excelled so much in my classes. When I had been teaching the sixth year Gryffindors, Mr. Potter looked as shocked at his results as I felt! I thought that perhaps back where he came from, his wand hadn't suited him, but now it finally did…" She looked to be at a loss for words. 

Professor Dumbledore took his time to take in this account. Yes, the boy had to be much more powerful than he had first depicted. Would the Harry Potter of that world have been as powerful had he grown up? Was that why the boy had been killed at such a young age? 

No, it couldn't be. It had to be just coincidence. After all, young Harry had barely shown signs of magic, mostly just baby magic. Things he couldn't control. There were differences in the six-year-old Harry and the young man who had appeared to them a week ago, after all. And the only reason that Voldemort had gone after Harry in the first place was because James was a trusted member of the Order. 

Wasn't it? 

  
  


End part 6

**Authoress's Rambles:** Waaah, short chapter. (at least according to me) But it was all I needed to get in before chapter 7, which takes place a month after this. I apologize for things taking so slow!! ;_; Both the plot and my writing... Recent sewing obsession taking up my time...  
*gasps in delight* As always, thanks so much for all the support! To **sk8reagle**, **HPIceAngel**, **Fireangle**, **Myk**, **SwirlyStars**, **Rebuky**, **Lady Phoenix Gryffindor**, **MerlinHalliwell**, **tima**, **amythest**, **destinywriters**, **Kana**, **Fanny chan**, **Relle**, **smilez**, and **Phoenix353** again!! ^___^ And thanks to **starsong** for telling me about problems with the chapter. ^^;; The dimension hopping will be explained later- you might have already caught it, though. ;) And yes, the snake was Nagini.. *g* Why will also be explained later. Harry's trying his best not to lead Lily on, but she's a little crazy here. ^^;; I mean, she died for him when she had only spent a year with him- in this universe she spent six years raising Harry and he died. No parent should have to outlive their child. And I've finally figured out the ending to this. ^_~ You'll have to see if it's happy or sad.  
And also thanks to those who reviewed the side story! It takes place in the time before chapter 7. ^____^

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	7. A month later

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... but the idea does! ^_^ Ahhh, to actually own Harry and Draco.... XDDD Fantasies, fantasies. Maybe in an alternate reality.

This is going be the lighter than I thought because even _I_ felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^ But just to warn you- it's a pretty sad/disturbing Draco/Harry. (And I finally decided to break this into different stories! ^^;; The plot's waaaay too big....)

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
"So… we're going to the Yule Ball, right?" 

Hermione halted in her page turning, her head snapping up as she glared at the boy who sat across from her in the library, squirming uneasily. It had been three weeks ago when they had started speaking to each other, though not on their own devices, and a week since they gradually became close friends. 

"And that's supposed to be an invitation?" she retaliated with a question. 

Ronald Weasley fidgeted for a moment, mentally cursing as his cool was blown off. He had planned on having Hermione too busy studying that she agreed without thinking, allowing him to tell her about the agreement at a later date. 

Hermione had to resist the urge to bang her head against the table, having been waiting the last few days for Ron to ask her already. But she never expected such a… stupid way of asking! She had to resist the urge to sneer at his lame attempt, thinking to herself that she had been hanging with Slytherins for too long. 

The brown-haired girl had to set her quill down quietly and sigh to herself for choosing to like such a dense boy. It was all Blaise's fault, it was. For suggesting them together in the first place. Harry hadn't stopped trying to set them up until he saw them holding hands one day, and he went away grinning. And at that information, Hermione made sure to blame Harry and Draco as well, as the three continuously made to set Ron and Hermione together. Neville, too! And while she was at it, she blamed Seamus and Dean for approving, and Professor Snape for sitting her next to the redhead. 

But she blamed herself for actually liking him. 

"I suppose I can go with you," Hermione said slowly, trying to look like she was thinking about it. She eyed him, taking guilty pleasure in watching him so nervous. "But I'm not leaving my friends behind in the Ball…" which most likely meant that if Ron wanted to take Hermione to the Yule Ball, he was going to have to deal with hanging out with Slytherins the entire time. 

Ron grimaced slightly but still seemed relieved that his invitation hadn't failed. 

"I'm not sure if the others are going to the Yule Ball, though." Hermione mused. "Though I wouldn't be surprised is Blaise asked Harry." It was plain knowledge to everyone in school that Blaise was sweet on Harry, although the boy in question was seemingly oblivious to the attention. It was amusing to see Blaise coo to Harry in classes and the other boy not even noticing. 

"You have to give Zabini credit for determination and perseverance." Ron admitted grudgingly. "He's been trying since Harry arrived." 

"Yes, and Harry's succeeded in being oblivious for the entire month." Hermione said with amusement. "You have to give Harry credit for being that dense. It takes a lot of skill." She laughed. 

Ron closed the book before him. "I think Harry actually knows about it. I think Harry knows how Blaise feels, but he's sort of… pretending that it's just Blaise being friendly. He gets some of the highest marks in classes, there's no way he hasn't figured it out yet." 

"I don't think Harry's as cruel as that." 

"I don't think he's trying to be cruel, 'Mione." Ron said, adopting the nickname that Harry had given so long ago. "It's just… a natural defense or something, I guess. I don't think he would really notice anyone coming on to him. Oh, he'd _know_, but at the same time, he wouldn't." 

Hermione shook her head. Normally, she would protest that Ron wasn't making any sense, but she actually understood that statement. Harry was smart- but dense. 

"I mean… not to insult Harry or anything, but… what could prompt him to become friends with Slytherins in the first place?" 

Hermione resisted the urge to throw something at the redhead, instead opting to go back to her studying with a sigh. "Never mind the Yule Ball. We're getting sidetracked from homework." 

Ron wrinkled his nose, but settled back to work on the Charms homework that was due the next day about a spell that told a person's statistics… 

  
  


Harry lounged by the fire, his legs kicking in the air as he scribbled down Draco's potion notes. For some reason, they were always better and more organized than his- so he just gave up on taking notes in that class and made sure to have Draco explain everything to him later. 

Honestly. Still relying on Draco's potion skills to get him through class… 

"Harry." Draco, who was lying next to him and also doing his homework, sounded a tad uncomfortable. "Your snake's bothering me." 

Harry looked up from his notes, firelight flickering across his face as he grinned at Draco, and saw his snake slithering across Draco's shoulders, making the blonde boy squirm. He had to bite back a laugh. "But don't you like snakes, Draco?" 

"Not this particular one," Draco grumbled, feeling better immediately once Harry reached over to extract the baby snake from between his shoulder blades. The dark red snake hissed its displeasure at Harry, but was content enough to settle on the raven-haired boy's shoulder and curl up around his throat for the time being. 

"I would think a Slytherin would love to handle snakes," Harry teased lightly, pushing up glasses up with a finger. He smiled at the other boy, who rolled his eyes. 

"Not a snake with such Gryffindor colors." Draco pointed to the gold markings below the triangular head of the dark red snake… so dark that the color could easily be mistaken for black. It was the fire that brought out the highlights on the snake… as well as the red in Harry's hair, Draco mused. 

"Carnus is special." 

Draco smiled slightly when he saw Harry go back to his work, the snake around his neck lazily tasting the air. It had been a month since Harry had arrived, and just a week or so since he had gotten his new snake- one that he had one day found (refusing to tell anyone where he found the snake) and kept from then on. It had been funny, actually, to see the students' reactions to Harry carrying around that snake. Because although Harry proclaimed Carnus to still be a baby, the snake was already well over three feet long and as wide as one's wrist. 

"You're staring again, Drake." Harry's voice came through his thoughts, startling him slightly. But Draco just blinked for a moment before grinning at the other boy, knowing that Harry didn't feel unsettled by his scrutiny. 

"You always seem to notice." Draco teased, settling down his quill and rolling over, stretching to ease his back muscles. They had been studying like this for the past hour or so, stopping only to tease each other on the strangest things. Usually, they would also be studying with Ron, Hermione, and Blaise- but Hermione had insisted on studying enough for the Charms test to beat Harry, and Ron had gone with her. Blaise had Quidditch practice that day, and so Draco and Harry were left to study alone. 

"If you want to take a break, Lily left cookies over by the couch. It's covered, though, since she thought we'd mostly likely do something to knock it over." Harry said, amusement laced in his tone. He had also set down his quill, although he couldn't roll over to stretch like Draco did because Carnus was still settled over his shoulders. 

Draco made an agreeing noise before reaching for the cookies, too lazy to actually get up for them. It was already the middle of December, although the warmth in the room suggested otherwise. It was so comfortable that he didn't want to leave at all, much preferring to stay and study more with Harry. 

"Why do you call her Lily?" Draco asked suddenly, curiosity piped. He sat up, settling the plate of cookies on his stomach so that Harry could also access it. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I always figured Mrs. Potter to be the kind who would want her children to call her all kinds of endearments." Said Draco. "And not just her name." 

Harry was quiet for a moment, carefully contemplating how to phrase his words. "I think you're right on that one. But she gets… too attached, you know?" 

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Not really. And now that I think about it, you never called our dear Professor Potter 'father' either." 

Harry sat up, careful not to disturb the snake on his neck, and blew the fringe from his eyes tiredly. One thing about glasses was that if hair got stuck behind the lenses, it was irritating and annoying to get out. Almost like nosy friends, he mused to himself. 

"You seem to love giving to rest of your friends nicknames," Draco pointed out, "So I'm a bit curious why you're so formal around your own parents. I mean, I know that Professor Potter is strict, but… Mrs. Potter seems nice enough." 

She is, Harry wanted to admit. But he knew that James had the right idea when he proclaimed that although he would not be indifferent to Harry, there was no way that the boy could ever replace the son he had once lost. Lily didn't seem to see it that way, always fussing over the scarred boy and smiling those tender smiles that made Harry feel so warm and happy… only to be feeling extremely guilty afterward. Those smiles weren't meant for him. 

"I guess…" Harry thought quickly. "I'm just used to it." 

Draco gave him a dubious look, but didn't comment more on it. 

"So how's your Christmas list going?" Harry asked, wanting more than anything to change the subject. He reached over to Draco for a cookie as well, ignoring Carnus' hissing and protests. The snake was used to something like that anyway, having been with Harry for the past week and knowing his friends and classes. Not that any of the Professors allowed the snake in class, but still. 

Draco threw a cookie crumb at Harry. "You are a hard person to shop for, you know that?" 

Harry watched in amusement as Carnus tried to snatch the crumb in midair. "How so?" he asked, wondering why Draco would say that. He didn't remember anyone having trouble shopping for him before- in the past… in his own world. 

Feeling another memory coming on, Harry firmly squashed the thought for a later time. It wouldn't do for him to have another flashback and mix up the Draco from this world and the Draco from his own. 

He had done that often enough, thank you. He didn't want to mix them up, even thought technically they were the same person. 

_Who would want to get technical in a situation like this anyway? _ he asked himself, knowing that thinking more about it would only make him more confused. If you fell in love with a person from one dimension, and fell in love with them again in another… is that considered romantic? Or more among the lines of… cheating? 

Harry already felt guilty enough about Lily. He didn't want to feel guilty because of Draco. 

"Well, what do you get a person who's probably going to get everything one can think up of from family this Christmas?" Draco asked. 

From family? Harry nearly snorted. He knew that if he did manage to stay for Christmas, only Lily (and probably Remus, just to be polite) would get him a Christmas present. He didn't blame any of them, as James was trying his very best to stay unattached, and Sirius didn't want anything to do with him- only standing to tolerate him when he realized that it really _was_ an accident that Harry was there. 

Which brought up the question of if he wanted to stay through Christmas or not. Dumbledore and the other Professors had been working on a way to figure out how to get him home, with the vague details that he had been able to provide. They had been struggling to find out where Harry had come from in the first place, but with that information, it was easier to find a way for Harry to go home. 

But he remembered the flames. He remembered the warmth that was death, and the coldness that was life. His skin still felt frozen to his own touch, still felt as if he had a layer of ice surrounding him. He had dared not experiment with his new-found elemental powers since he had gotten to this universe, finding that every time he worked with water, his skin got just a degree cooler. 

But other than the coldness that he felt all the time, he wanted to go back home again. 

Yet at the same time, he didn't. 

There were so many bad memories there, but so many good ones as well. He didn't want to leave the people that he grew up with behind, didn't want to leave the person that he loved more than anything behind. 

But this place was so happy compared to his home. Hogwarts was still there, and while there was still a war going on, there weren't many deaths and Voldemort seemed to be more in hiding than anything else. People were still happy, and the students were oblivious to the outside world. It was a sanctuary for his weary soul. 

And as much as he hated to admit, he didn't miss everyone so much with his friends there. He hated that feeling, it was as if he had replaced his friends with the people in this universe, but he couldn't help but feel it. There was no way that they could be replaced, even with someone who shared the same DNA. 

Harry couldn't help but be lost in his ambivalence. The people he loved couldn't be replaced… he missed them, wanted them back, wanted to be with them. Yet he loved the people in this universe too. He loved the feeling of happiness that surged through him whenever he laughed with his friends, and the freedom of his magic. 

But… 

_You do remember how much I love you, don't you? How I can't live without you? _

"I don't even know if I'm staying this Christmas." Harry said. 

"You mean you're going to leave for the break?" Draco blinked, but then smiled again. "Well, I'd still be owling your presents to you. You better not forget mine just because you're away!" 

Harry managed a weak smile, not telling Draco that perhaps he was going home before Christmas. 

He just couldn't leave the one he loved behind. 

  
  


Blaise gave his hair a final tousle before entering the library, looking for Ron and Hermione. It was right after the Slytherin Quidditch practice, and although he wanted to go visit Harry first, he knew that the dark-haired boy wouldn't approve of him wandering around in December (and heavy snow!) with wet hair. Sure, he was cold, but he wasn't cold enough to try one of those ImmediDry products. Besides, he was bad with magic when it came to his hair. He didn't want to accidentally charm it purple or something. 

Seeing his targets in a far corner of the library, Blaise sauntered over to them, grinning. House relations really have improved since Harry arrived. 

Leaning over the oblivious couple, he read with a raised eyebrow, "Hermione Granger, Female. Brown hair, brown eyes… Current residence: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Born in 1980. Still alive today." 

The girl in question nearly shrieked when she heard his voice behind her shoulder, and she whirled around, glaring at Blaise. The auburn-haired boy only smirked, refusing to be intimidated by the smaller girl. 

Then she blinked. "Your practice let out early today, Blaise." 

He shrugged, running a hand through his still damp hair. "It started snowing again. None of us really felt up to playing today, anyway, so we just figured to reschedule the practice." 

Ron snorted. "So it didn't have anything to do with the fact that Harry's studying alone with Malfoy…?" 

"What do you take me for?" Blaise asked, indignant. He placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be angry. "I think I should trust my own best friend and the object of my affection in the same room together for several hours!" He then grinned, and swiped the paper that held Hermione's statistics. "It's kind of like what happens when I leave the two of you alone." 

"You mean to say that Draco will ask Harry to the Yule Ball?" Hermione asked lazily, grabbing at the Slytherin's wrist to take her paper back. "And don't touch my homework! At least, not until it's done." 

Blaise only grabbed with paper with his other hand and turned his eyes to Ron. "You asked her to the Yule Ball? Good job! How'd you do it? I should try it on Harry…" 

"I doubt it would work if you tried it on Harry. It was the worst invitation in the history of mankind." Hermione retorted dryly. 

"It was not!" Ron flushed. "You agreed to go, didn't you?" 

"Not because of that phrasing, no." 

Blaise only rolled his eyes at them. "What is the homework here, anyway?" He took a closer look at the paper, to find that the ink didn't look quite right. 

"It's Charms homework. Remember? The Stats Charm?" 

Blaise turned to blink at Hermione before comprehension dawned. "Oh! That nifty spell that tells you a person's statistics! You already have it all figured out?" He ducked as Hermione got up to grab at her homework. "Hey, can this show me Harry's statistics?" 

As if the paper heard him, the ink blurred for a few moments before changing. Blaise managed a cursory glance at it before Hermione knocked him down, landing on top of him to grab at the paper. 

"Ha!" She crowed, delighted that she could take down a Slytherin Quidditch player. "That shows you for trying to- whoa!" 

"Hermione!" 

She heard Ron's exclamation right after she was thrown backward by Blaise, who grabbed at the paper, wide-eyed. 

Ron rushed across the table to help her back up, glaring at Blaise all the while. "What in the world do you think you were doing, you git?" 

Blaise ignored him, instead reading the paper aloud. 

"Harold James Potter, Male. Black hair, green eyes. Born in 1980, died in 1986. Current residence: Godric Hollow Cemetery." 

  
  


"So where are you going this Christmas?" 

It was a casual question, one that didn't have any hints of malice or deception, only a genuine curiosity. Draco and Harry were both sprawled over the couch in the room, both nudging at each other for more space. Carnus had long since disappeared, having slithered off somewhere to find food. After all, he was still a wild snake and Harry didn't want to tame him by feeding him. 

"Home." Harry answered simply, feeling a stab of guilt at those words. He thought he had already diverted the conversation onto other topics, but then Draco just had to go and bring it back up. He grabbed for one of the couch cushions before Draco could take them all. "How about you? Staying here for Christmas like everyone else going to the Yule Ball?" 

Draco frowned, snatching back Harry's cushion and ignoring his indignant cry. "I'm staying for Christmas, but I'm probably not going to this year's Yule Ball." 

"What, not taking Pansy?" Harry joked. Pansy Parkinson had always been a sore subject for Harry, even before he remembered his past relationship with Draco. 

Not that he remembered everything now, he thought bitterly. Just bits and pieces of things, but enough for him to piece together the whole picture. 

"Pansy? I wouldn't want to interrupt her date!" 

"Maybe you should go with Blaise, then." Harry said. "He was complaining to me that he didn't have a date for the Ball." 

In actuality, Blaise had done more than complain to Harry about it. He had teased Harry about going with him, hinting (quite blatantly) that he wanted the small Gryffindor as a date. 

"I think Blaise already had someone in mind." Draco said dryly. 

"Really? Good for him, then! I hope he gets his date." Harry smiled. 

Ron had been right about Harry. The green-eyed boy had the slightest suspicion in the back of his mind that Blaise was actually interested in him, but that thought was shoved away into an abyss somewhere. The only thing that the boy knew was that Blaise spent more time with him than Ron and Hermione, and that was saying something since Gryffindor and Slytherin only had three classes together. 

Draco would have choked on something at that moment had he been eating. Fortunately, he only gave Harry an incredulous stare before shaking his head and hiding a smile behind his hand. 

"Oh! You've got to help me with my transfiguration project." Draco interjected, changing the subject before he was tempted to ask Harry to stay for Christmas break. "You and Hermione are tied for highest grade in that class, you know?" 

Harry flushed at the compliment, wondering why he was doing so well in his classes as well. He had been an average student before, barely passing his classes (especially Potions) and getting just decent scores on his tests and projects. Yet with his arrival in this universe, everything seemed so much easier. Magic was so… _full_ here that he could barely control the flow of it. 

Maybe the wand that his parents had given him was better than the wand he had before? 

"You'll have to ask Hermione on that." Harry said. "I don't really understand the concepts of it, and the project is based more on theory than actual demonstrations." 

It was true. While Harry was much better at magic now, he still didn't completely understand the theories and the written part. Hermione was the one with all the information, not him. It was because of that that they were tied for first in their classes. Harry performed the magic exceptionally, while Hermione understood all the history and reasons behind the magic usage. 

"And it's not like you're lagging behind. If anyone needs help, it's Ron." 

Draco grinned. "Yes, but I still figure you could help me anyway. You always make it look so easy…" 

Harry flicked his arm. "I do not! I have a hard time with the tests that McGonagall gives!" 

"But not the work!" 

The two of them continued mock-arguing and teasing each other for a few minutes before there was a banging on the door, and voices from the other side. Giving each other curious looks, Harry got up to let the people in, only to have Ron, Hermione, and Blaise stumble over the barrier once the door opened. 

"What in the world-?" Harry exclaimed, staring at the tumble of people on the threshold. He gave them room to get up. "Why are you guys in such a hurry?" 

It was Ron who spoke first, grabbing onto Harry's shoulders. "We've got some very, very strange information here, mate. Either someone sabotaged your reports, or the spell was really cracked, but-" 

Harry blinked as Blaise knocked Ron out of the way and shoved a paper in his face. "This! It's Hermione's homework… the Stats Charm. We thought we did in wrong at first, but then we repeated the spell at least eight times and tried it with different people, and theirs was all correct, and…" 

"What are you talking about?" Draco was sitting up in the couch now, curiosity evident in his gray eyes. 

"It says that Harry Potter died ten years ago." Hermione said in a serene voice. Her eyes were suspicious as she watched one of her best friends. 

At this, Draco's eyes widened and he turned to Harry. 

"It says that Harry Potter died when he was six and is now buried at Godric Hollow Cemetery. Why does it say that, Harry?" Hermione asked, her posture the calmest out of everyone in the room. 

Harry fingered the paper, reading the contents before pursing his lips. Should he tell them…? He should have known, really. Hermione always found out things that people didn't want her to find out. It was, after all, the reason that they solved all those mysteries during their school years together. 

Besides, he had always felt guilty about keeping the information from them. Might as well let them know, right? It would be a great burden to unload… but why did it feel like something was gnawing at his stomach? 

"You did a great job, Hermione." Harry smiled. "It's not often that a person can complete this charm the same day that it's taught to us." He took a deep breath. "And your paper's absolutely correct. Harry Potter did die at the age of six, and is now buried in Godric Hollow Cemetery. 

"At least… the Harry Potter of this world." 

  
  


End part 7

**Authoress's Rambles:** Wow, this took a long time in coming. ^^;; I'm so sorry! But things should speed up now that the quarter's over... the SATs are over, all my socials are over... and spring break is over. ^^;; I'm sorry about not using your scene, tdei! But Carnus is still in this story and he still has the same colors. I'll explain where he's from in later chapters.   
Much love to the reviewers! *glomps* **Lady Phoenix Gryffindor**, **Myk**, **angel**, **TeeDee**, **Phoenix353**, **amythest**, **SailorGurl**, **Mirai no Jennyfur**, **lillie chan**, **Otaku freak**, **Sternschen**, **Reiken**, **Amy**, **Relle**, **serapotter**, and **izean**. *beams*   
Carnus is one of Nagini's children, and Nagini being at Hogwarts _will_ be explained! Harry doesn't have visions anymore, he has flashbacks. The basilisk never woke up in the first place, and no one knows that Harry is a Parselmouth. *winks* I'm not sure if I'll write a scene with Remus and Harry, although I might consider that. As for Harry and Draco's relationship... it's kinda... both. ^^;; I'm glad people liked my description for Lily, though! *teary-eyed* Thanks so much for everyone who put me on their favorites lists.... XDDD You are much beloved!

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	8. The truth and aftermaths

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... but the idea does! ^_^ Ahhh, to actually own Harry and Draco.... XDDD Fantasies, fantasies. Maybe in an alternate reality.

This is going be the lighter than I thought because even _I_ felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^ But just to warn you- it's a pretty sad/disturbing Draco/Harry. (And I finally decided to break this into different stories! ^^;; The plot's waaaay too big....)

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
_ "Say something. Please say something." _

Gray eyes flashed in fury at the pleading tone. Draco Malfoy rose from his armchair stiffly and stormed across the room, shoving a shocked Harry Potter against the wall, grabbing at the Gryffindor's wrists. The fire behind them flickered ominously before settling again, a representation of the emotions playing in the room. It only made the scene seem more surreal, more distant rather than serious. 

"Say something?!" Draco hissed, pressing his right arm against Harry's throat, trying his best to ignore the gathering pain in the other boy's eyes. His grip on the protruding bones only tightened with his anger. "What do you want me to say? 'Good luck'? 'Godspeed'? 'Bon voyage,' perhaps?!" The Slytherin's eyes were almost glowing with emotion. "After everything I said… everything I tried to do…!" 

"I…" Harry was almost gasping for air, but he refused to allow Draco to see his desperation, to see him clawing at his throat. "I k-knew… you wouldn't… approve…" He inhaled frantically. "B-but… I have_ to… Draco…" _

As if suddenly exhausted, Draco let his grip on the Boy-Who-Lived slip, anger rapidly seeping out to be replaced by a hurt weariness that pained Harry to see. All the fury and aggression transformed into something else entirely as Draco pulled the green-eyed boy into a fierce embrace, as if trying to soothe his earlier violence. 

"No, you don't." Draco whispered harshly against the nape of Harry's neck. "You don't have to do anything. We could leave. Just say it- and we'll be gone. I swear no one will ever find us, I swear that we'll live the life that we wanted to. You don't have to agree to this, Harry. Just say it. Just say you want out." 

The Gryffindor's normally bright verdant eyes were dull as he grasped on to Draco just as tightly. He didn't want to detriment the situation any further. 

"I can't, Drake." The words were harsh even to him. "I can't just walk out like that. I'm needed here. I don't know why, but I am." 

Draco drew back, but still kept his arms around the other boy, his eyes flashing. "That's bullshit, and you know it, Potter." He drew in a deep breath. "You can't just walk in here and tell me that you're going off to get yourself killed in this war. I already told_ you that I need you too. I've tried to convey to you how much I love you. I thought you understood." _

Harry's eyes flashed in sudden anger. "I can't leave just because you say so! What would happen if we leave? Just disappear like you suggest? The consequences could be severe! So many people could die! Ron and Hermione could die! Everyone we ever cared about could die!" 

"I care about you_!" Draco cupped Harry's face with his hands. "And although this sounds very selfish, I don't want _you_ to die! I may not know what the consequences of us leaving are, but I do know that I'm not willing to give you up like that!" His voice grew choked as he pressed his forehead against the raven-haired boy, staring into the green eyes up close. "You're too important to me. I don't care what happens to the rest of the world as long as you're safe… and happy." _

Harry looked extremely guilty at that. 

Draco sighed, but smiled sadly. "You're such a Gryffindor, you know that?" 

Harry smiled back, his anger abated for the moment. "And you're such a Slytherin. Guilt-tripping me?" 

"Just…" Draco really didn't want to argue anymore. He stared deeply in those green eyes, trying to memorize the flecks of different colors that ran there. They didn't have enough time together… he could spend lifetimes staring into those eyes. "Just promise that you'll come back to me." 

Harry grabbed at one of the pale hands that was cupping his cheek and leaned into it, nuzzling the hand. "As long as you're here, Draco… I'll always come back to you. God, I can't even begin to describe how much I love you… and how much your support means to me." 

  
  


"The Harry Potter of this world?" Blaise asked, shocked. "I think you should explain." 

Ron nodded eagerly behind him. 

Harry sighed, holding the paper down. "I think you should all sit down first. And try to save the questions for last." 

"Just one thing," Hermione interjected as the two boys found room either on the couch where Draco wasn't spread out, or on the rug. The brown-haired witch was looking at Harry strangely. "Who are you, really?" 

Harry gave a weak smile. "Harry Potter. But I'll explain it." 

Hermione gave him a scrutinizing look at his cryptic answer, but nodded to herself and sat besides Ron on the thick carpet. She made sure to compose herself for whatever the small Gryffindor boy needed to say. 

Harry took a deep breath before going to sit down in the armchair near the fire. He risked a quick glance at the people he called friends for the past month, and met Draco's eyes briefly before breaking away. Luckily, Blaise didn't really seem to notice this. 

"I…" He swallowed, wondering why his mouth felt so dry when he had been chattering away happily just moments ago. He didn't even really know how to start it. When in doubt, start from the beginning… right? "However confusing this sounds… please bear with me… 

"A year ago, during my fifth year… Voldemort started gaining more power than anyone would have imagined possible. Nobody knows how, nobody knows why. They only knew that for some reason… the Dark Lord's magic went beyond what anyone could have predicted. Ever since he had been reborn… he was more powerful than people had remembered from his first reign." 

The four who were listening shared a look, not understanding a thing that Harry was talking about. 

'Reborn?' Hermione mouthed in confusion, but the boys just shook their heads. 

"People didn't understand why… only that things were getting bad. Worse than it had been before, especially when it turned out that Voldemort was learning elemental spells. Powers that would allow him to control a selective element of choice. And what better choice than fire? Something that was destructive, something unstoppable and feared. People used to think that burning to death had to be the worst way to die, and Voldemort wanted nothing but to prove them right. So with the new powers that he gained, he learned how to control fire… to create flames so strong that no one could put it out. Not physically, not magically." He shook his head. "Wait. That might not make sense to you." 

He took a deep breath and started over, apologizing first. "Sorry about it. It was just where it all started for me… but the actually story started long before that. How much do all of you know about the Dark Lord and his reign?" 

Unsurprisingly, it was Draco who spoke up first. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started his reign a long time ago, Harry. Long before we were all born." 

"Yes, but…" Harry fiddled with his hands. "I want to know where what you know and what I know begin to differentiate." 

"Well…" Hermione cast a glance on the boys, who only shrugged in confusion, "There's not much to say. You-Know-Who has been ruling as Dark Lord… but lately he's almost in hiding because of someone code named 'Tiger', because this person has been killing Death Eaters in droves." 

"Tiger?" Harry interest was piqued. "I've never heard of that." 

The others looked at him like he was crazy. 

"It's been around for almost ten years." Hermione explained. "Some people say that Tiger's insane, because he goes on killing sprees, slaughtering Death Eaters without mercy. Other people say that Tiger was deeply affected by the war, that the Death Eaters had killed everyone he held dear- so he doesn't fear death anymore." 

"But no one really knows of Tiger really does exist." Draco provided with ease. 

"Things are more different here than I thought," Harry murmured to himself quietly. He stopped when he realized that the others were staring at him expectantly, wanting him to explain to them how he didn't contort to their expectations. He sighed… well, they said that it started ten years ago, right? If things had changed when he was one, then anything could have happened. 

Besides, that could be the reason why Voldemort wasn't as hostile as before. 

The person code named Tiger seemed to have done a much better job at keep Voldemort at bay than he ever did, Harry mused cynically. 

"Do you…" he hesitated, wondering if he should be so blatant about it. "Do you believe in alternate realities?" 

The others boggled, obviously not expecting that. 

Without giving them a change to reply, he continued, "I was born to James and Lily Potter. The first year of my life was spent at Godric Hollow, where my parents decided to live. From what I know, my parents were both part of the Order of the Phoenix, which was an organization that opposed Voldemort. Because of that, the Dark Lord attacked our house on Halloween of 1981, and managed to kill my father. He was about to kill me when my mother interfered, sacrificing her life to save mine. 

"Because she died for me, Voldemort was not able to kill me. When he sent the Killing Curse at me, it somehow rebounded and hit him instead." Harry shrugged at their disbelieving faces. "And the Dark Lord disappeared for the next ten years." He spread his fingers across his lap nervously, not knowing how they would take that information. "That's what I remember. But you guys are the only ones who know this at the moment, because I haven't told anyone else." 

Taking another breath to steady himself, he said, "I spent the rest of my childhood living with my aunt and uncle- the Dursleys. I didn't have a private tutor… I got my acceptance letter for Hogwarts when I was eleven, and got my first taste of the Wizarding world." He got a bitter smile. "I felt like I had fallen into a fairy tale… everything seemed so perfect. But it was a façade more than anything else was. 

"My first year in Hogwarts warranted the comeback of Lord Voldemort… or at least, he tried to come back using the Philosopher's Stone. He was stopped," _by me_ Harry didn't add, "and his attempt thwarted." 

He didn't really want to tell all about what happened in the other years, because his memory of it was still blurry and because he didn't want them to know all those things. 

"But in my forth year, he tried again to come back and this time succeeded, resulting in the death of a Hogwarts student: Cedric Diggory." The memory wasn't so painful now with the blurs of time and cobwebs that had been in his mind for so long. "And as I said, after his rebirth, he gained more power that he had before." 

"But…" Draco spoke up, unable to keep silent even though he knew that Harry didn't want to be interrupted until the story was over. "Didn't you defeat him before?" 

Harry shook his head. "Not me, per say. It was only because of my mother's intervention. But everything thought I could anyway." 

"Blimey, Harry," Ron spoke up as well. "You're one of the most powerful wizards in school! I think some of it was your own magic as well." 

"But…" Harry looked down at his hands. "I don't know why… magic is so much easier now. Only that it wasn't before. I had to struggle to pass my classes, never had the highest grades in school, and it took me forever to learn new charms. I was just an ordinary kid, you know? Everyone thought I was special because I survived an attack by Voldemort… even though it wasn't my doing at all. But I had never been special… not really. Just… lucky, I guess. 

"But after the Dark Lord's return and his decision to learn elemental powers, the professors decided it would behoove me to learn as well. Something that would allow me some protection against him. So while Voldemort gained power in fire, I was taught how to control the water element." 

He laughed slightly, but didn't sound amused at all. "Let's just say that it wasn't easy. Elemental magic is tricky to learn, and even harder to control. Not enough concentration and you could die by your own spell. I spent all of my fifth year learning elemental magic, and can still only grasp the very basics of it. Unlike Voldemort, of course, who mastered the training in record time." 

Ron gaped. "You know elemental magic, Harry? That still makes you really powerful, even if you only have the faintest idea of how it's done." 

Draco, who seemed to be the most surprised to hear that Harry knew the water elemental magic, finally spoke up again. "So you really _were_ manipulating water that day!" The others looked shocked, and Draco had the decency to flush deeply before explaining. "I saw you the day before Professor Dumbledore announced that you were going to start school with us. You were in the Hospital Wing, arguing with Mr. and Mrs. Potter… but before that, it looked like you were playing with something crystalline, but malleable… like a liquid." 

"You saw that?" Harry asked incredulously, shocked that he hadn't sensed Draco there. 

Draco looked sheepish for a moment, very unlike the calm and cool that he usually held. "Um… yeah." 

Harry shook his head. He now knew why he didn't react to Draco's presence that day. He was too used to Draco always being there, and had not registered a threat in his mind. He didn't want to know how many other times that Draco had caught him at things he shouldn't have been doing. 

"I still don't understand what you're saying, Harry." Hermione said, her eyes darting knowingly between the blonde Slytherin and the Gryffindor. "None of what you're saying makes sense…" 

"It all leads back to my first question, 'Mione." Harry explained. "Do you believe in alternate realities?" 

Hermione couldn't answer that. 

"I've already said that my parents died years ago." Harry tried to explain. "After the last battle with Voldemort… I'm guessing that the elemental magics mixed or something… because I remember seeing fire everywhere I looked. Fire and water aren't supposed to mix- they're supposed to cancel each other out. I don't remember much about that battle… my mind was too muddled and incoherent. 

"But I remembered thinking up ways to counter fire… and I remembered my training as a water elemental. So I tried to use the water to put out all the fires… but the magic somehow got mixed together… creating something much more _different_. It could be because the wands used to cast the magic were similar… because the magic didn't cancel out… only combined." Harry didn't add that he didn't think he had his wand by that point in the battle. 

"And the next thing I remembered… I woke up in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts." _Only, Hogwarts had been destroyed where I come from…_ "And I saw Lily… whom I believed had died so long ago." 

"Are you trying to say…" Blaise commented, catching on quickly. "That whatever magic that was combined on that day caused you to… fall into an alternate universe? Caused you to arrive here?" 

"Yes." 

The others had an immediate reaction to this. Ron made noises of disbelief, Hermione started asking so many questions at once that she stumbled over her own words, Draco's eyes widened and he stared searchingly at Harry, and Blaise gaped at the boy whom he had fancied for so long. 

"Do you mean to say that you've created a whole new element? One that allows people to travel through multiverses?" Hermione asked, obviously seeing the idea much more fascinating that doubting anything that Harry said. 

"I wouldn't say that, 'Mione…" Harry started. "I don't think it was a new element… only a freak accident. I doubt anything like that will ever happen again." 

The circumstances were certainly unique enough. It hadn't taken much for Harry to figure out that the magic had mixed because of his connection to Voldemort… but he didn't want to tell about that yet. Because Voldemort had been so good at manipulating fire, Harry had a natural affinity for that element, and had an extremely hard time learning to control water… that was so different from the warmth and the brightness of flames. 

"Do you believe me?" Harry asked in a small voice, obviously not wanting to hear if one of his friends distrusted him because of the truth. 

It was quiet at first, and Ron was the first to nod before Hermione spoke up. "Of course we believe you, Harry. You wouldn't lie to us about something like this… and it certainly explains what was wrong with the spell… or for the matter, what was _right_." 

Draco and Blaise seemed to agree with her, and Harry blinked. "You're taking this very… calmly." 

Draco smirked. "Don't worry, Harry. It's just for your sake. We'll scream out our insanity in a nice padded room later." 

Harry smiled. 

"Does that mean… you'll go back?" 

Harry paused, then looked guilty at Blaise's question. The auburn haired boy was looking at him carefully, scrutinizing his every move in a distinctive Slytherin manner. "Yes, it does. Professor Dumbledore is looking for a method to get me back home again." 

It sounded so harsh. 'Home'. He couldn't decide where home was, anymore. For years, he had always imagined home to be with his parents, with people who loved him. 

But now he had two homes. 

"You're leaving?" Ron asked, shocked. Obviously, the idea of Harry coming from an alternate universe didn't add up to the fact that he would have to leave them. 

Harry shook his head a confirmation. "I have to. I don't belong here-" 

"Of course you do!" Blaise nearly shouted, alarming the others. He jumped up from where he sat on the couch, eyes blazing with passion. "There has to be a reason for everything. Maybe you came here because you _do_ belong here. Maybe you were meant to arrive here… so that you could have a calmer life. When you explained things… it didn't sound very peaceful. Learning elemental magic to battle with Voldemort? You wouldn't have to do that here!" 

Harry was more than surprised at the outburst, but smiled at Blaise's protectiveness. "It's not about living peacefully or not. It's about responsibilities. I can't just leave my home like that." 

"You can't just leave us like this too." Blaise protested, looking more than a little forlorn. 

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but then slumped, feeling more guilty than ever. 

"You left someone special, didn't you?" Draco guessed, eyes dull. He didn't know whether he wanted to react like Blaise did, or continue sitting there and not moving… because he had a feeling that if he did allow himself to really think about what Harry was implying, he would yell much more than Blaise had. 

"Yes, I did." Whispered Harry. The green-eyed boy wanted to risk a glance at the blonde Slytherin, but he didn't dare. The face was too familiar, and the feeling too painful. He didn't want to deal with morals at the moment. 

Blaise gaped for a moment before falling back into his seat again, stunned. 

The other two Gryffindors looked just as stunned, unable to take their eyes off their friend. 

Harry nearly squirmed under the weight of all those eyes, but he managed to maintain his composure and murmur out a quick 'sorry' before getting up and fleeing the room. 

  
  


"It's nearing Christmas soon." 

Lily refrained from commenting as she closed her eyes to allow the cold wind to blow strands of her hair from her face. Her hands clutched at the windowsill tightly, ignoring the snow that had settled on her numb fingers or the dangerously blue tint to them. She only concentrated on the beautiful scenery before her, at the frozen lake and grounds, at the trees in the Forbidden Forest that was covered with snow to make them look less foreboding. 

A pair of arms wrapped around her and warmth breath tickled her neck as James sighed. Warm, glove-covered hands covered her own, forcing them off the freezing windowsill to cup the warmth back into the bluish fingers. 

"You'll get frostbite if you continue to linger out here." James commented lightly. 

Lily's green eyes stayed onto the outside wonderland, not moving an inch to her husband's caring antics. Luckily, James was used to this behavior, for he just stood still to hold her. 

"I don't want him to leave." Lily commented all of a sudden, her eyes still not moving. 

James only closed his eyes against Lily's red hair, knowing exactly what she was talking about. 

"I know that Albus says that he has to leave… but why now? He's only just got here…" 

"He's not our son, Lily." James said painfully, eyes still closed against the softness of his wife's hair. He had started out strongly with the idea, but now it was painful to think of. During the beginning of Harry's arrival, James was sure that he would stand strong against this person who looked so much like his lost son. He wasn't about to be that hurt again, didn't want to loose his child again. 

But as the time went on, James couldn't help but notice the small similarities between Harry and himself. He had spent time talking to Harry about Quidditch, helping him with homework, and working out extra lessons with him. Despite the many beliefs about teenagers, Harry was extremely sweet and trusting, something that made James sigh in relief. Even without his parents there early in his life, he must had grown up… well, for the lack of a better word, _right_. 

And despite how Sirius had tried to avoid the boy, he had noticed it as well. 

Remus was, of course, more than willing to indulge Lily and get to know Harry, being immensely delighted by how quick to learn the young boy was. But then, Moony had always been a bookworm and erudite. 

"But I still want him to stay." Lily said. "I _know_ he isn't our son. Harry's too sad… he likes different colors, and has different pastimes than our son. But I still want him to stay, even though I know he isn't our son." 

James opened his eyes again, a little sad at his wife's insight. "But think about this, Lily-love… he has people who care and love him in his own world. If he had suddenly disappeared one day, wouldn't you be worried as well? Wouldn't you want him back safe and sound as well?" 

There was silence for a few minutes, uninterrupted and deceptively serene. Then Lily twisted in his embrace, and buried her face into his cloak, grateful for the arms that tightened around her. James didn't say anything as he felt wet tears soak through the thick material of his cloak, allowing Lily her moment of catharsis. 

"I hate this." She finally whispered hoarsely, voice thick with emotion. 

"But would you rather this have never happened?" James asked. 

Lily closed her bleary eyes, gathering her strength. Would she have preferred it that she had never met this teenaged Harry? It would save all this pain… all these tears that she had given up on years ago. She wouldn't be feeling as torn over this situation as she was feeling right now. 

But it also meant that she would never have known the endearing grin that Harry gave when he was getting into trouble with his friends, or sparkle in eyes so much like hers when he was up to something mischievous. He took after James more than anyone had thought after all. 

Besides, hadn't she wished for so long to have her son back? Even if only for a little while, she wanted to know how the child she loved so much would have turned out. She had wanted to get lost in her delusions, wanted to believe in a perfect world that was shattered the moment of her son's death. But she now knew that it had never been perfect in the first place, and she had learned to love Harry as the boy that he was. As the teenaged boy with a streak for pranks, and an incredible way of making friends- even if a lot of them were Slytherin. 

"No. I'm glad we got this chance to know Harry." 

James only held her tighter. 

  
  


End part 8

**Authoress's Rambles:** A large bowl of fried rice, a pound of curly fries, and two bottles of water and I was able to finish this chapter. LOL!! I wonder how long it'll be before I can't eat like this anymore. ^_~ I was lucky and didn't have any tests or anything special to do this week. And the reason that Harry's friends didn't react violent is because they're more in shock than anything. LOL. And the first scene was supposed to show exactly how violent/passionate Harry and Draco's relationship had been.  
Thanks to: **Otaku freak**, **Myk**, **usagihinorei**, **boe**, **amythest**, **Phoenix353**, **Silver Wolf**, **Silver Angel**, **rayvern**, and **Fanny chan**! And also to **Jaylee** for the most embellished review I've ever recieved *blush*, and to **TeeDee** for noticing about the seperate stories *wink*, and to **AlexaDonaghy**- his world is still there. ^_^ And I'd be more than honored to be on your recommenadations list! And **venenatus.venustas**, thank you! *beams* I'm not sure if some people will take it as a happy ending, though...

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	9. A fake wand and Memories

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... but the idea does! ^_^ Ahhh, to actually own Harry and Draco.... XDDD Fantasies, fantasies. Maybe in an alternate reality.

Just a note! There should be one more part plus an epilogue before this story is over. ^_^ Then it's on to the sequal, for which I'm working on the plot. Just a warning- that's where things start to get dark! But I'm glad that so many people asked for a happy ending- I'm thinking up a way for things to end at _least_ semi-happily... ^_^ Hope you all enjoy!

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
Draco sighed as he watched his owl take off, carrying the letter that he sent for his father. He usually didn't include information about his friends in his letters to his father, knowing that Lucius Malfoy was not one to tolerate close friends. To him, a Malfoy did not have anyone equal to him, and the only ones Draco should befriend would be people like Crabbe and Goyle, who would be easy to manipulate and bend to his will. 

But his own desperation added to Blaise's erratic pacing and murmuring had finally gotten to him, and he was going to explode if he didn't do anything soon. It had been a week ago when Harry had told them that he was going hone… a home where he didn't know how to come back, and a home his friends here couldn't reach. 

They didn't want him to leave. Although the four of them (him, Blaise, Weasley, and Hermione) had promised Harry that they wouldn't tell anyone about his past, about the home that he came from, Draco had found a loophole about how Harry hadn't said anything to talk about him going home. So he had sent a letter to his father, asking how to make a friend stay over the Christmas break. He had mentioned that Harry was going away, but hadn't said where. 

He had held on to his sanity for a week already- that _had_ to be somewhat admirable. He hadn't wanted to admit it before, but he was just as desperate (of not more) as Blaise when it came to the idea of making Harry stay. The dark-haired Gryffindor had changed his entire outlook in Hogwarts with his appearance. Had Blaise not declared his intent on Harry the second day of Harry's appearance, Draco would have done do. But as one of Blaise's best friends, Draco respected the fact that Blaise wanted to woo Harry, and tried his best not to do so himself. 

But he couldn't deny that Harry's refreshing difference attracted him. Even from the beginning, the boy had stood out- had been special. Draco hadn't known what was so special about him until recently, and it wasn't because of his unique history. 

He was exactly the person Draco had always been looking for. 

Someone who was different from the crowd, someone who had learned enough to know not to judge another person by first glance. Someone powerful who wouldn't be intimidated by the Malfoy name. 

After all, _he_ was a Malfoy. That meant that only the best should be presented to him. 

But now he wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. Every time they had tried to plead with Harry for the dark-haired boy to stay, green eyes would turn to _him_ in a pleading manner himself. As if begging for him to understand something just out of his reach. 

It was those eyes that made him halt and falter in whatever he was trying to get across, and stare in disbelief in confusion. Why would Harry look at him like that? Why was it that out of the small group of friends, Harry would choose Draco (and over Hermione, too!) to beg the other boy to understand. 

But… understand what? 

It was in those moments when Draco faltered and could not plead with Harry anymore that those green eyes start to look relieved. It had been like that all week, and Draco found that he was now unable to ask Harry to stay. Blaise had been furious when he found out, fuming silently about how his best friend was now the object of his love's affection, and that it was so muggle-high-school that it was almost comical. 

But as it was, Draco wouldn't stand on his own after a moment's exposure to that 'Look'. 

He contemplated this as he walked out of the owlery, heading for the library where the others were lounging. Even though it was the last day of school already before the holidays, the five of them had been so used to the library that Madam Pince had reluctantly allowed them a private part of the place to read or talk quietly with each other. 

"Draco!" 

At the sound of his name off a distantly familiar tongue, the blonde Slytherin looked up and smiled politely at the person who had called his name. "Mrs. Potter." He greeted evenly, stopping out of courtesy. 

Lily Evens Potter smiled gently at the boy, giving him a motherly look even though he was just as tall as she was (if not a little taller, since he had recently realized that his clothes didn't quite fit so well anymore). She had always ignored the fact that he was a Slytherin (as her husband had obviously not, as he scowls whenever he saw Harry with either Draco or Blaise) for the fact that he was one of Harry's friends. 

"Heading towards the library?" She asked with a beam. "I was just heading along to the Headmaster's office myself… I wanted to ask you if you could somehow convince Harry to stay during Christmas break. My husband and I wish to stay at Hogwarts, although we would not deny Harry his home…" 

Draco felt a sudden start. Mrs. Potter didn't know that Harry had already told his friends about the situation, but it seems that she was trying to get Harry to stay as well. 

_I should have realized that_, he thought blearily. _That there are other people who have grown attached to Harry as well. _

But it also filled him with dread. Mrs. Potter talking with the Headmaster would most likely mean that whatever method Harry would be using to get back home would be ready. The small boy had not disclosed how he was to get home (as he knew that his friends would try their best to sabotage it) to anyone, and Draco had not yet asked. 

"Really? I was under the impression that all of your family was leaving for the vacations," Draco lied smoothly. "We had at first very much wanted Harry to stay, but didn't want to disrupt any family plans…" 

Lily's green eyes brightened with the same intensity as Harry's, and she smiled wider. "Well, if you could convince Harry to stay over the break, it would actually do us a favor." 

"We'll try our best." Draco promised. 

  
  


_Hunger. _

Harry blew the fringe from his eyes and huffed quietly, grimacing into his pile of potions homework. His shoulders had been sore for a while already, but Carnus had refused to leave him, as if sensing that the boy would be leaving soon. 

"If you would allow me to finish my homework, I would be able to get you some food." Harry grumbled back. "Or better yet, you could leave and find your own supper." 

The dark crimson snake only hissed his disapproval at the idea, and went back into curling around Harry's neck disinterestedly. 

Harry couldn't understand why he was working on homework at the moment. After a short session with his friends at the library (where Draco hadn't showed up and Harry was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable with the blatant innuendoes about him staying), Harry had been called into the Headmaster's office for a brief talk about how he was going home. 

That led to an even more uncomfortable confrontation where Harry admitted his elemental training, and Dumbledore told him that he was most likely going to have to use elemental powers again to get home. 

And home was a place that he was remembering more and more clearly, now that he was fully concentrating on going back. He could remember Hermione's horrible statistics about the damage that was caused in the war, and Ron arguing with her about it- saying that everything was for the best. That if no one had fought, there would have been more people to die. 

He remembered Professor Dumbledore's calm presence and reassurance, the old man's advise to him and the horrible grief where the wizard decided to stay with Hogwarts even after its fall. He remembered Professor Snape's sneers and disparaging remarks, and also the look of intense _emotion_ when they were fighting together. 

He remembered the love in Draco's eyes when the blonde Slytherin was trying to warn him out of danger, trying to protect him through insults and violence. 

He remembered crying rivers for Hagrid's death, which was followed closely by the fall of the Ministry of Magic. He remembered all the horrid details now, especially… 

_"Fuck you! Let go of me!" _

Harry clawed his way out of Ron's grasp, kicking and screaming bitterly as he was grabbed by both Draco and Seamus, who held onto him despite his snarls and his attempts to bite them- anything for them to let him go. 

"Bloody hell," Seamus wheezed as Harry managed to land a kick where no boy wanted to be kicked. "Stop this struggling right now, you insufferable git!" 

"I will if you let me GO!" Harry snarled, the heat of the flames beating down on his face, burning his skin just by his close proximity to them. He was desperately holding back tears as green eyes flickered quickly to the carnage that was before him- to the place that was his real home. 

He had to go back. He was needed_. Why didn't they understand this? This wasn't supposed to happen, things were supposed to get this desperate, people weren't supposed to die like this… _

"You can't help them!" Draco was telling his firmly from one side, still holding down the raven-haired boy's arms tightly. "You'll only get yourself killed if you go back in- there's nothing you can do!" 

Harry wanted to protest, wanted to say that somehow his water training would help- even if he wasn't very powerful. He wanted to cry; he was so choked up at the moment staring into the white-hot flames that were slowly crawling up the towers, into rooms he knew that had withstood a thousand years and many, many mischievous students. 

Instead, he brutally bit on the arm that Draco held across his chest, and struggled wildly to break, free yelling obscenities freely and harshly to the ones he loved. He would be sorry for it later, he knew, but at the moment, he couldn't find the strength in himself to care. 

Voldemort's forces should never have been able to get through Hogsmeade, should never have made it through the Forbidden Forest or the range of students that protected the school they were studying at. The magic at Hogwarts should have protected the majestic castle, should have somehow protected the school from harm. 

The infamous fire that the Dark Lord wielded should never have touched the stone walls. Harry shouldn't have to hear the screaming of the portraits, shouldn't have to smell the charred flesh of students who had died to defend their school. Despite his weakened power, he could literally feel the magic of Hogwarts being ripped apart, the thousand-year power that was contained in one institution of magic being forced out of the bonds it was held in. 

"I can help!" His voice was shrill, near the level of screeching. "I can do something_! There are still goddamn people in there! Children!" He was flailing his limbs wildly, dread growing in his heart at a faster rate than the flames in the castle. _

"You'll only get yourself killed if you go back!" Ron was screaming at him from just a foot away. "Don't be selfish- we need you alive or else this war is over!" 

Selfish?! There were still too many people in Hogwarts who wouldn't be able to get out! They were the ones who were selfish by keeping him safe! 

Harry let out a frustrated scream as he continued to struggle wildly, not able to hear Draco's soothing voice in his mad haze of thoughts. All he knew was that even though his water element wouldn't be able to do anything, he knew that somehow he_ would be able to do something. Maybe because of his connection with Voldemort, maybe because he loved the school so much, maybe just because he was who he was. _

All he knew was that he should be able to do something… anything… to help. 

There was a melodious shrill and everyone looked up to see a bright red phoenix fly out from one of the highest tower windows, it's red flames a sharp contrast to the blinding white that was consuming the castle and the ominous black smoke that was clouding up the sky. 

"Fawkes…" Harry murmured to himself, frozen in shock for a moment. A heavy feeling was settling over his heart as he realized what that could mean. Eyes darted to the burning school and widened impossibly, finally tearing up and glazing over with insanity. "Professor Dumbledore_!" _

He let out a hysterical scream of grief before finding himself in Draco's arms, his face pressed against the blonde's hair and his own arms locked by Draco's. But his eyes stayed on the window that Fawkes had left, a madness slowly settling into them. 

"You can't do anything." Draco's voice in his ear was harsh, but firm. He sounded almost as choked as Harry felt. The arms tightened around a shocked Harry, and the Gryffindor could feel wetness on his neck. "Not now. But we'll find a way to win this war, Harry… you'll see. We'll find a way." 

Harry only felt his strength go out completely when he saw the Gryffindor tower collapse in the fire. 

And he had taken Draco's advice to clear his head. He had found a way to defeat Voldemort, although admittedly only because of his desire for revenge. He had felt weak for weeks after that, unable to understand why he felt all the magic go out of Hogwarts, how he had depended on the castle's magic to sustain him when he had nothing more to go on. 

For weeks he could barely eat or sleep, spending all his time studying curses and charms, potions and runes. He clung desperately to Draco and all the other survivors of Hogwarts, with a hysterical quality that worried many people. 

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, letting his quill drop onto the pile of homework. He really shouldn't be having a hard time with all this homework, considering that he _had_ studied it all before. But with his clumsy memory, he could only remember half of the potions ingredients for something or otherwise. And that made it harder than not remembering anything at all, knowing that you _knew_ this but unable to access the information in your own mind. 

He gave up on the homework for the moment, settling for wondering what his world would be like now. He was pretty sure that the burst of power in the last battle had knocked out (at the very least) or killed Voldemort. 

After all, he could still remember the white-hot, flickering flames turning to his command, changing into a liquid clear color and turning cold. So very cold. 

"Carnus, you're heavy." Harry grumbled suddenly. The snake in question ignored him. 

But then, he also had so many memories of this world as well. Finding Carnus, for example. Or better yet, Carnus finding him. 

Harry rolled his eyes as he thought about trying to talk to Nagini, only to have her refuse to have anything to do with him once she realized he was a Parselmouth. Carnus was one of Nagini's children, and had refused to leave Harry alone until the Wizard could do nothing but tell his friends and pseudo-parents that the snake was his new familiar. 

Deciding that there was no way he could do more homework for the day (and he didn't even know why he was doing the homework in the first place… since he was going home…), Harry pushed away from the desk and stood, stretching as much as he could with a large snake on his shoulder. Fingering the wand in his pocket, Harry wondered once again how his parents had managed to give him such a powerful wand and if he could take it home with him. 

Well… no time like the present to ask, right? 

  
  


Harry found Lily in the common room of the private quarters that the Potters were allowed to stay at in Hogwarts. Strange thing was that she was talking with Draco Malfoy in hushed whispers, as if they were actually up to something that would get them in a lot of trouble. 

He had to clear his throat loudly before the two heard him, and smirked slightly when Draco eyed the red snake on his shoulders dubiously. 

"I was wondering if I could take my wand home tomorrow." Harry informed Lily, eyes darting quickly to Draco to see his reaction. The Slytherin was sitting upright on one of the couches, his posture very relaxed and formal at the same time. 

_Malfoys, _ Harry wanted to roll his eyes endearingly. 

"Your wand?" Lily sounded sincerely confused for a moment, then her eyes widened as Harry held up the wand that she had given him. "Oh! That!" she looked uncomfortable. "Um, Harry… there's something that James and I have been meaning to tell you about that wand…" 

"It works better than my old one did." Harry said with a smile. He tapped the said wand in the air and watched as blue and white sparks shot out happily. 

Lily got up from where was sitting on an opposite couch from Draco, and excused herself politely. She smiled as Harry and beckoned from him to go into a deeper room. The dark haired boy was confused, but complied nonetheless. 

Closing the door quietly behind her, Lily took a deep breath, wondering how she was going to explain this to Harry. 

Seeing that she didn't know how to say it subtly, she said bluntly, "It's not a real wand." 

Harry, who had been looking at her expectantly for her explanation, blinked. "Huh?" 

Lily wanted to smile at Harry's clueless noise, but couldn't find the heart to at the moment. "The wand… the one that we gave you when you returned for classes? It's not a real wand. It's actually a practice wand- one for people who are testing out dangerous charms- the ones that need reduced magic. It's the type of wand that's mostly used by people who are recovering from magical outbursts." 

"I don't understand." Harry cut in, holding the wand tightly in a vertical position with both hands. "It has to be a real wand… it works better than the one I had before…" 

Lily only shook her head. "The wand wasn't made for anyone in general. In fact, it doesn't even have a core. The only thing magical about it is the ash that it's made out of." 

Harry was staring at her with disbelief through his glasses. 

"You have to understand… wartime is dangerous." She pleaded. "Even though we believed in what you said when you arrived here, we had to be cautious- we couldn't afford to give you a real wand. You just needed something that would allow you to pass your classes, that's all." 

Harry swallowed as he glanced down at the wand. "I understand." But then he looked up again. "But that doesn't explain why I have such a easy time using this wand…" 

At this, Lily looked worried. "None of us understand." 

  
  


_"This is it. It has to be the absolute last battle." _

Everyone looked so tired… so hopeless. There were only about forty of them now, all students- none of them even old enough to graduate. None of them over the age of eighteen. 

It had almost been two months since the fall of Hogwarts, and those who survived were all tired and weary, having seen more than enough pain and death to last most people lifetimes. They formed a circle inside a thin tent in the cold October air, huddling together to preserve warmth. 

A thin girl with cropped hair stood at the middle of them, bent over a rickety table with a flickering candle and drawing lines on a piece of paper with a muggle pen. They had run out of ink long ago, but a few of the muggle-borne had given all their pens and pencils. Hermione pushed a dirty strand of hair behind her ear before going back to her plan. 

"We've been able to take out a lot of Death Eaters in the last month through our guerilla tactics… but it's not enough. We don't have enough on our side right now. The Order of the Phoenix hasn't been heard from since the fall of Hogwarts, so we can't count on them to help us now." 

Harry stood grimly to the side, wondering if they had made the right choice to tell the others that. With so little hope to begin with, he didn't want people to become even more discouraged. He and Hermione had argued long and hard about how the students were going to take that information, and how to tell them that it was only they who were left to fight the war. 

There were a few strangled cries from the younger children, who had desperately hoped for adults to come back and take control of the situation. The older of them only managed to look for grim, trying to figure out how to survive. 

"All connection with the muggle world has been cut." Hermione sounded very tired when she said that. "No one can get in the wizarding world… and no one can get out. We can't even contact anyone on the outside. Platform 9 ¾ has been blocked… as well as the way to Diagon Alley and many other places. The Floo Network is completely disabled, and Death Eaters now trace all portkeys. Apparation to any muggle areas will get you bounced back to where you started. 

"We're down to thirty-seven people, and we can't risk any other battles. We can't loose any more people. So we have to take the Dark Lord unaware, and go after him directly." 

Most of the students look scared at the prospect. 

Harry could feel Draco come up behind him, and turned to wrap his arms around the Slytherin's waist. Draco only looked sad, pulling Harry closer and cupping his face. 

"Seamus, Harry, Draco, Neville, Ron, and I will be the decoys." Hermione continued saying. She was putting out her plans over the worn paper. Lines for where people were, where they were supposed to be. "Ron has drawn up a plan of how to attack them. We can't afford any mistakes here. Ginny will lead the rest of the group into the battle if you don't hear from us in five minutes. We've already determined where all the Death Eaters and Voldemort will be… because they'll be attacking what used to be the Forbidden Forest on Hogwarts grounds." 

"This is it." Draco whispered lightly to the dark-haired Gryffindor, leaning to touch their foreheads together. "This will be what determines victory or defeat." 

Harry closed his eyes, just savoring the feeling of Draco close to him. 

"After this… if we survive…" 

Harry smiled bitterly at Draco's hesitant tone. "Do you regret staying here, Draco?" he asked quietly. 

"Voldemort will more than likely be attacking with a brigade of a dozen Death Eaters, because he's gotten overly confident of himself. We need people in these positions ready to take those Death Eaters down at first notice and…" Hermione's voice droned on, along with the sounds of hitched breathing and the quiet crying of the younger years. 

"I try not to think about it." Draco answered honestly. He smiled at the frown on Harry's face and wiped away a smudge of dirt that had stained the green-eyed boy's face. "I regret… not arguing with you hard enough. Not getting you out of this war before you felt obligated to stay." 

Harry rolled his eyes. "Draco. I would have felt obligated to stay had I been asked to in my first year." 

"Exactly." Draco replied, amused. "I should have made sure to get you into Slytherin in first year. That way, you wouldn't have hung around all those honest and foolhardy Gryffindors… and maybe spent more time with me…" 

Harry opened his eyes at that statement, smiling. "I meant staying with me." 

"Do I regret staying with you?" Draco asked incredulously, but snorted. "If I regretted staying, I could have left." He shushed Harry when the other boy opened his mouth to protest that he couldn't leave now. "But no. I don't regret staying with you." 

"But you could be far away from here." Harry mused. "Like you wanted to be. Somewhere where Voldemort will never touch, where there's no war." 

"But no you." Draco said gently. "I would never be happy. Not without you there. Being here right now, even in the cold with nothing but the earth to sleep on, at least I know I'm with you and you're safe." 

Harry lifted a hand to brush back a strand of dirty blonde hair. Draco caught that hand within his own pushed it against his lips, closing his eyes briefly. 

"So I'm the reason why you're here…?" 

"I would normally say 'don't flatter yourself'… but I don't think that we have the time for sarcasm right now." Draco pulled Harry even closer. "So… yes. You're the reason I'm alive right now, and not one of the random Death Eaters or students that have died in this war." He smirked. "I refuse to die without you by my side." 

Harry rolled his eyes. "How romantic." 

"Good to know you think so." 

  
  


End part 9

**Authoress's Rambles:** **SlytherinEvenstar** pointed out that Harry was too easily accepted into Hogwarts when supposedly everyone knew he had died. ^_^;; Sorry about that! It was in one of the conversations of the deleted scenes... but Dumbledore had announced that he had been protected throughout the duration of the war because of James Potter's high position in society (pureblood who had married Lily, meaning he would be a prime target for Voldemort... yeah.) So the students were told that Harry having died was only a cover story so he'd be safe. ^^;; Sorry about the confusion!   
This chapter is for: **monstertron**, **Silver Angel**, **Rarity88**, **SlytherinEvenstar**, **Phoenix353**, **Bianca**, **Lady Phoenix Gryffindor**, **amythest**, **Tsuyuno**, **Alexa Donaghy**, **Fanny chan**, **Semmerie**, **BlackMoon**, **Koganei4**, **lollipozz**, **Cat**, **Shinigami06**, **someonesgurl**, **sk8reagle**, **Sheron**, **Unintentional Nightmare**! I'm sorry if some people didn't realize this is another angst-filled story- it is. That's why it's understand 'angst'. ^^;; Thanks for so many great comments on the story! And most people already figured out that 'Tiger' was Lily's codename. LOL. ^^;; I'm not very good at subtly, I guess. How Harry and Draco's relationship is going to end up is still a secret. ^_~ And James and Lily don't know much about Harry's reality at all. And **Semmerie**, I'm not sure if you would consider the ending I have planned out a happy ending... ^^;; 'Cause they have to work _hard_ to get it. 

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	10. Going Home

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... but the idea does! ^_^ Ahhh, to actually own Harry and Draco.... XDDD Fantasies, fantasies. Maybe in an alternate reality.

Wow, it took over 4 months- but this is the last part of the story! Then it's on to an epilogue, but for those who don't want to read another story on this- I don't suggest reading the epilogue. Just stick with this ending. The epilogue actually works as a prologue for the sequel, _Vigilae Mortuorum_, as well. Hope you all enjoyed this story! 

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Shamera 

  
  
"I don't understand how you still want me to go to the Yule Ball." Harry was grumbling as Draco dragged him along the halls to lunch. It had been a day since Lily had admitted that Harry did not have a real wand, and the boy had been more than confused at first, before deciding that he wanted to try his magic without that wand. 

After all, that was what he had been doing for the past month, right? 

But he hadn't been able to try, as his friends had been dragging him around all day, making sure that they spent every last second with him. 

"Because you're not leaving until after sundown." Draco tried to explain patiently, trying to drag Harry to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. 

Harry noticed immediately. "Hey! I'm not sitting at the Slytherin table! If you wanted to sit together, you can sit at the Gryffindor table." The boy huffed. 

Draco rolled his eyes at the other boy's protests. "Hermione agreed that we would all sit together- at least today. Although Blaise and Ron argued long and hard about where to sit. We decided to sit at Slytherin." 

Harry pouted. "Can't we just... ask the House Elves to make us a lunch somewhere? And not have to choose anywhere else to sit?" 

Draco stopped, causing Harry to bump into him from behind. 

"We hadn't thought of that." He admitted reluctantly. 

Harry let out an exasperated breath. 

  
  


"Do you even have the robes to go to the Yule Ball?" Blaise asked Harry while the others conjured a table and seats and cast warming spells on the snow. ("Why are we having a picnic in _December_?") 

Harry blinked. "I'll just go in my school robes... maybe take off the Gryffindor patch." 

"You can't do that." Blaise exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the green-eyed boy. "Don't worry, Harry-love. We'll get you into fitting robes for the Ball in no time. Won't we, Draco?" 

"I don't think Cinderella would appreciate that." Draco teased, a smirk prominent on his face. 

Harry shrugged off Blaise's arm as the auburn-haired Slytherin blinked at the muggle phrase. He turned to Hermione pointedly. "What are you going in, Hermione? And Ron, too." 

Ron only made a face, but replied for the both of them. "My dress robes are horrible, so 'Mione suggested we both go in school robes without the patches." 

Harry gave Blaise a pointed glare. 

"You could always have asked us for dress robes." Blaise pointed out, referring to himself and Draco. The blonde boy only rolled his eyes, knowing that even though they were now reluctant friends, Weasley would never have the guts to ask him for any sort of help. 

"No, thanks." 

"And besides, Harry, you shouldn't look like them- you're not their date." 

"I don't have a date." 

"You could go with me!" Blaise protested. 

"But then Draco wouldn't have a date." Harry pointed out flatly. 

Draco opened his mouth to say that it was okay, but then shut it at Harry's glare. 

"We could go as a group?" Suggested Harry. "All of us wear our school robes." 

Blaise made a face at the thought, and Draco snorted. 

"There's a reason why we already have our dress robes." Draco said. "And going to the Yule Ball in our school robes would only defeat the purpose of owning dress robes in the first place." 

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're both too vain." 

"But we _could_ still go as a group." Hermione suggested, nudging Ron hard in the ribs as the boy got ready to protest. She had settled the food on the table already, and was trying to think up ways to explain them all going together. 

"Oh, _that_ would certainly give Snape a heart attack." Ron mused darkly, not liking the idea of sharing his date. 

"Please- he's had a month to get used to us hanging together." She pointed out. 

"So it's decided?" Harry asked innocently, smiling as the other boys groaned. 

"Harry!" 

The said boy turned as Lily waved to the group from inside the castle. James was standing slightly behind her, looking amused to see the small group of students having a picnic in the melted snow and warming spells. He looked tired, but determined to say something. 

Harry turned back and got up. "Give me a moment, guys. I should be right back." 

Draco hurried up after him. "I'll go with you." 

Harry blinked, but nodded nevertheless. 

  
  


Lily watched as the two boys approached, leaning slightly on her husband. She was thinking about what to say to the boy who looked so much like her son. Thinking about how she could convince him to stay, convince him to understand that she didn't expect him to be someone that he wasn't- and that she couldn't go through the heartbreak again. Would that be enough? Would that allow for him to know that he was wanted here? Needed, even? 

But then, James had already preached on about how Harry would be missed by the people he grew up with and loved, and Lily couldn't help but feel guilty about that. She had grown to love Harry, and knew that other people had as well. 

But how would she feel if she had known him all his life, but then he had disappeared? 

It was all James's fault, she wanted to think. She hadn't wanted to understand things from a different point of view, and only wanted to think about her own. The big picture was too complicated to see, too... ambiguous. And any action taken, any results gained in the end would end up hurting someone. 

If love was the game you lost by not playing... then what if you loved and knew you were going to lose either way? Only now, it would be much more painful- having known what this love was. 

She felt a pang of trepidation at the thought of the pain that would come if Harry decided not to stay- and not to come back. Although her heart told her that the feeling was irrational, that Harry wasn't so heartless to say something like that- she couldn't help that but fear. 

After all, she already knew how painful it was to lose him. 

She managed a painful smile as Harry and Draco came inside, their expressions more somber than it had been outside. Harry appeared slightly puzzled while Draco seemed thoughtful about something that she couldn't fathom. 

"Harry." James said pleasantly, as if Harry wasn't leaving that day. "Your mother and I wanted to talk to you alone for a while…" 

The boy in question gave an apologetic look to Draco, who only shrugged and excused himself for the moment. 

Once the blonde was sufficiently far away, Lily started, "We actually wanted to ask you one more time if you wanted to stay with us… stay here." 

Harry's eyes grew sad at the mention of choosing to stay in this world or his own. "I…" he hesitated to look into his would be mother's expectant gaze. "I can't stay." 

"We don't expect you to be anyone other than who you are." Lily tried to say. "I know you think that I'm constantly comparing you to my son… and I _was_, in the beginning. But after a while, I realized that I didn't have any basis to compare you to. My son died over ten years ago… the age gap is too large to fill in. I realize that everything about you is unique, and that I can't compare you to anyone else… I don't want you to be anyone else but you." 

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but then thought better of it and just offered a hesitant smile. "Thank you." He said earnestly. "I'm not sure if you understand how happy I am to hear that, but I am. Happy, that is." 

"Then you understand that this is an honest offer for you to stay." Lily offered. "James and I have talked this over… we'd like to adopt you- to make you our child once more. We'd like for you to stay here…" 

"That offer is very tempting." Harry's voice was small, and he found that he was fiddling with his hands. He couldn't find the courage to raise his eyes to meet the ones of his parents. "And I… would have liked that very much. But things aren't so simple…" 

Lily deflated at the words, finally realizing that Harry wouldn't stay after all, no matter what they offered him. "You have people who you love in your own world." She smiled sadly, understandingly. 

"Yes." Harry finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. "And I have a person whom I love more than anything else in the universe. Someone I can't live without… someone I can't just leave." 

Lily was at first surprised by the honest and determined expression on Harry's face, but then she felt… proud. Proud that he had found someone to love like that. And she could feel the pain in her heart start to abate a little. 

She could feel James' warmth behind her, his shoulder only slightly touching hers to give her the support she needed for her final decision. Turning her head to meet his eyes, a silent communication was shared until the both of them smiled secretively. 

"We understand." Lily said. "but… the offer still stands at any time. And…" she reached in under multiple layers of clothing to withdraw the ring that she had been wearing on a thin chain around her neck. It was a simple thing, really, made of something that looked like it was glowing green. She pulled it over her head and took his hand, placing the ring down onto his palm. "Here." 

Harry recognized the necklace that Lily had fidgeted with every time she was nervous, and quickly said, "I can't take this from you." 

"You're not taking it from me, because I'm not giving it to you." Lily continued on as she got an encouraging smile from James. "I'm letting you borrow this. So you have to make sure that I get this safe and sound again- not a scratch!" 

The teenaged boy stared at the nearly translucent ring, feeling his eyes mist up. "Why?" He asked. "I thought you would never have let me go without a fight…" 

"Call it… a moment of enlightenment." Lily said. She smiled again as Harry moved to place the chain over his own neck. 

She couldn't deny him love, she had realized. If this love was anything like that love that she had experienced… was experiencing… then it would be awful of her to deny him of that. 

"Just remember that you have to come visit." James said from behind her, and he smiled proudly as Harry turned surprised eyes to meet his. "I know… that I haven't been easy on you the entire time you're here. I'm sorry if that made you feel unwelcome, because it wasn't was it was meant as." James chuckled. "Although it _was_ the point in the beginning, since we all thought you were a spy. That ended when we realized you were going to go home, though. Another moment of enlightenment, maybe? We seem to have plenty of that with you here." 

Harry felt as if he had a lump of solid matter stuck in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, and he could feel his face contort into the widest grin he could remember giving as he murmured a 'thank you' to the two people who had been so important to him- even though they weren't the exact people that he had been longing for so long. 

"Just… make sure that you find this person you love so much again." Lily instructed, somehow finding her way back into James' arms. "I'm too much a sucker for a happy romance story for that not to happen." 

  
  


Harry was humming to himself as he bumped into Draco walking down the hall, his happy mood lasting since the last talk he had with James and Lily. He let out a small breath of air as he stepped back and blinked, being only a few inches away from the Slytherin. 

"Draco!" He beamed, smiling brightly at the other boy. The blonde seemed to be deep in thought, and barely blinked at Harry's cheerful greeting, instead seeming to contemplate something. Harry saw that immediately and sobered. "Is something wrong?" 

Draco took a while just staring at Harry, as if trying to commit the boy to memory. But before Harry could get unnerved, he smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I just got a letter from my father, that's all." 

Harry felt a pang of sympathy as he recalled how frustrated Draco had been with his father back in his own world. 

"Is it anything bad?" 

Draco shook his head. "Just got something from him, after all." He seemed to fidget with something small in his hands. "Can I tell you something, Harry?" 

Harry gave the other boy a reassuring smile. "Anything. You know that already." 

Draco let out a small breath. "Good." Then he snaked his arms around the Gryffindor and pulled the shocked boy into a kiss. 

  
  


_A hand gripped his wrist tightly before he could slip away, and Harry turned to stare into grey eyes that he knew better than his own. _

"Wait."

Despite the fact that they were both cold, both tired and weary from lack of sleep and proper nutrition, and the fact that they needed a proper shower and better clothing, Harry marveled at how Draco still managed to look so beautiful against the bleak landscape that had been their campground for the last few days. How the pale skin still seemed to glow brighter with the stark contrasting stains. The blonde boy pulled him back from where the other students were gathered, trying to get in an extra moment with the one he loved.

"We don't have much time." Harry warned as he wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist. "This has to be a surprise attack."

"I know." Draco informed him, pushing a stubborn and dirt smudged raven lock behind Harry's ear. "We can't lose this battle."

Harry stared at Draco's features for a while, knowing that the blonde was doing the same for him. Piercing grey eyes that were framed by a strong, mature face. Dirty silver-blonde hair that was falling apart from its once immaculate style. Faint scars all over from the battle they had to endure, souvenirs of the pain they had to go through and the obstacles they had passed. They had both grown so much over the past few years… they were both so different from the young boys who had first scorned each other's name, and had played foolish pranks on each other. 

"No, we can't." he whispered softly.

Draco rested a hand against Harry's neck, feeling the warmth underneath his fingers. "After this… if we survive…"

Harry cut Draco off by lifting his own hand to Draco's to entwine their fingers. "If we survive… we'll talk about this after the battle." He held Draco's gaze firmly, telling him that those words were to be saved for after the battle, after the war. 

Those eyes looked so deeply into him that he could feel a shiver run down his spine. It was like Draco could look into his very soul and see everything spread out before him. Those eyes knew him so well, knew him better than he knew himself. 

Draco leaned in close to skim his lips over a fading bruise on Harry's cheekbone. The raven haired boy only closed his eyes and breathed in softly, savoring the feeling of Draco's warmth so close to him. He could feel Draco's breath on his neck, where the moisture had stuck and made him all the more colder afterward. The cold October air was getting to him, and he didn't want to leave this protective embrace and step into that cold world all over again.

As if noticing Harry's protest of leaving, Draco chuckled slightly. "You really have a problem with the cold."

"I like being warm." Harry turned his face to nuzzle Draco's neck. "It's not like you can complain. You have a similar problem with heat."

"True…" Harry felt arms around him, bringing him closer to that delicious heat. "But you get much colder than I get hot."

Harry scoffed a little, not even bothering to open his eyes. "It doesn't get that hot in Scotland."

"You don't seem to think so… must we argue about something this mundane?"

"We argue about everything."

Harry could feel Draco's laughter deep from his chest. "I suppose you're right." The blonde boy said. "But it's just that we've gotten along so well the last month that I nearly forgot that little tidbit of information." He paused for a moment, lost in thought. "We used to fight a lot, didn't we?"

Harry pulled away just a little to look at Draco, his expression more amused than anything else. "Like cats and dogs. All the way from when got properly introduced to each other until about last month or so."

A corner of Draco's lips curved upward. "I always figured you would be the death of me."

Harry sobered and turned serious as he heard that. "Draco…"

The blonde shook his head. "Don't worry about me, love. Just concentrate on yourself for the moment. I promise that I'll survive this battle." He smiled as Harry gave him a dubious look. "Didn't I say that I would only die with you by my side?"

Harry managed a smile of his own. "What if I disappeared?"

"Well then… I would just have to live forever, won't I?"

  
  


The warm flesh under his fingers was so familiar, and so real. The scent of the skin was one that he had memorized in his sleep, the feeling of coming home intoxicating him and filling him with so much relief that he could almost feel tears. The lips upon his own was soft and hard at the same time, exactly as he remembered them to be. The same tenderness that was prevalent throughout, and the same rough need that was the undercurrent. 

Harry could almost feel himself slip away under the tide of emotions that Draco was trying to pour into him through that kiss, and he wanted nothing more to be lost in that feeling, to be lost in the essence that was _Draco_. But there was something wrong, something just the slightest bit off with his feelings, with the emotions that were being conveyed. Just as the feeling and tenderness was the same as he remembered, the situation was wrong. 

He could distinctly make out himself wrapping his arms around Draco's neck just as Draco cupped his face, their eyes closed in the sensation of each other. There was no one else but each other that existed at the moment, and they weren't even two separate beings- but instead, one person. 

But this was wrong. Wrongwrongwrong…

After a small eternity, Harry pulled away with great reluctance- cursing his need to breathe. He could feel his fingers entangled in Draco's hair, and could see the glazed eyes that stared at him in wonder, as if seeing him for the first time. He took great gulps of air as he tried to clear his passion filled head, instead leaning on Draco's shoulder and shutting his eyes firmly, trying to give himself room to think. 

"Nooo…" he moaned softly, knowing that he did something wrong. "We can't do this, Draco."

Arms slipped around his waist, gripping him tightly. "You can't tell me that you didn't feel anything in that kiss, Harry. I _know_ you did. And… I don't think anything can compare to that feeling, not something that intense." Draco's voice was pleading, if a little breathless. "Stay. Please."

Harry could only squeeze his eyes shut. "I can't."

"Is this because of the person that you love?" Draco's embrace grew tighter. "But you can't say that you're not happy here."

"Draco…"

"_Who?_"

Harry didn't want to draw back, didn't want to leave the embrace, but felt himself do so. He carefully extracted himself away from Draco enough to look him in the eye, seeing the weary and tense expression on the other boy's face. The Slytherin had probably been gathering his courage to kiss him for a while now, and had finally gotten to chance to- and saw that the kiss was perfect, that they could be perfect together. 

"I left you back there." Harry said simply, knowing that Draco would understand what he meant. His gaze grew sad and nostalgic, knowing that this was exactly what he had been hiding from everyone in this world. "I left… Draco… back at home. And he probably doesn't know I'm alive."

Grey eyes were wide, staring incredulously at the boy before him. "I…"

"That's why that kiss seemed so perfect." Harry closed his eyes once again to stop the sorrow from showing too much. He knew that his eyes were too expressive, as he had been told that many times. "Because it was… perfect." He swallowed thickly. "It was perfect."

Draco was quiet for a moment, allowing Harry to regain his composure. But then he glanced down to something that dangled from his hands, something he had nearly dropped in the kiss that had just occurred. 

"I'm sorry." He said softly, knowing that Harry would hear him no matter what, given the silence in the halls. "I shouldn't have done that… I just…" He fell silent once again, not able to express his feelings properly through the haze of frustration that he was feeling. He knew that Harry could have been a vital part of him, wanted the boy to stay so that he could figure out if that was true… but that would be denying someone else who _knew_ they needed the green eyed boy. Especially when that person who needed Harry the most was himself… in another world. In a parallel universe. 

"You don't have to be sorry." Harry shifted from one feet to another, quite uncomfortable about the subject they were talking about. "I understand… really. The pull that we feel towards each other."

And Harry was right. It was that nonexistent pull that no one other than themselves could feel, and it was a pull that even they couldn't feel most of the time, only in moments of clarity when they understood that they needed each other. 

"Here." Draco remembered what he had wanted to talk to Harry earlier about. He pressed the object he had into Harry's hands, watching those fingers curl over his automatically. "Keep this. Just as something to remember us by after you leave."

Harry looked down at the object that Draco had given him, and then looked up again. "I can't…"

"It's a rune stone." Draco continued, trying his best to ignore the fact that the stone was enchanted. "I have one as well. That way, we'll know that… the other person is okay, you know?" 

Harry traced a finger over the deep lines in the small, brown stone. It looked old and almost reeked of power.

"It has a few protection spells on it." Draco said. "It can't do much against actual, physical attacks, but… just keep it with you."

"Thank you." Harry said quietly, then looked up to Draco again with a question. "You're not hurt that I can't stay here?"

Draco just shuffled his feet uncharacteristically, but shook his head slightly. "I hadn't understood before… but now I do. If I were the Draco of your universe… I would be frantic trying to find you. I'm sorry that we can't have a chance… but I'm glad that you were loved that much." He offered a small smile. "I wouldn't want to share you either- even if it were with a me in an alternate universe."

  
  


It had been a little over ten hours since he and Draco had talked. Harry still felt more than a little nervous about the prospect of going home, of leaving the place that he had gotten so used to. Hogwarts was gone in his own world, he knew. And he didn't know the condition that his world was in, having been in the war for so long, and knowing that the lands he was used to see were all scorched and unlikely to be filled with life anytime soon. How would he deal with his own world… would he be able to readjust?

Giving into a sigh, he set the drink that he had down on the table before him. The Yule Ball had always been too formal for him- he couldn't dance very well. And all those people in colorful robes somehow showing themselves off to the school… well, he remembered having felt like that a few years ago. But a few months of sleeping in the dirt and mud changed that. It wasn't that he was vain to start with… but now he barely noticed his appearance at all besides the fact that he had his glasses and his wand.

And even now, he wasn't so sure he really needed that wand anymore.

Harry had to admit that the Yule Ball had been fun- not the dancing, of course, but the part where Hermione had borrowed Colin Creevey's camera and they had taken plenty of pictures together. He knew that pictures were precious and something to be treasured, remembering how his parents' pictures had been destroyed in the fire at Hogwarts. But he didn't need them anymore, did he? In meeting his parents in this world… he had actually slightly sedated the constant longing he felt to have his mother and father around. He still longed to have a different childhood, yes… but now it was subdued. Different. 

It was time to leave, he knew. His friends were already outside, waiting for him to get his last look at Hogwarts. The Professors that knew about him being from elsewhere were outside, along with his parents. 

Or, the people who could be his parents.

Taking one last longing look at the stone walls and quiet corridors, Harry turned on his heel to exist the warm castle, stepping out of the front doors into the snow. He saw Hermione waiting patiently outside for him, her eyes following his movements with a distinct look of interest. 

"Waiting for me?" Harry asked, pulling his heavy winter robes around him tighter. It had snowed again that night, the freshly fallen snow covering the marks made by students who had been playing there in the day. Now Hogwarts really did look like an untouched, magical castle- with even the snow more pure than white. 

Hermione smiled, and fell into step with Harry as they walked towards the back of the castle, where no one would be likely to see any spells that were going to be performed. "Kind of. More along the lines that I have a question to ask you."

"A question?"

Hermione nodded, her brown hair bobbing in the curls they had been kept in for the Yule Ball. "Yes. Do you remember when we first really spoke to each other? How you said that you knew someone like me at home?"

Harry smiled. "You remember that?" At the girl's nod, he tilted his head a bit, thinking. "You want to know who I meant, right? When I said that you reminded me of someone?" He managed a sheepish smile. "Actually, I did know you back in my own world. You and Ron were my best friends."

"Were things very different there?" She asked, curious.

They approached a small group of people who had been waiting for them, most of the smiling indulgently at the two. The chill air was making it so that Harry could see his breath condense in the air, and fog up his glasses.

"Very different."

Harry managed to offer Professor Dumbledore a smile as he saw the old man, who looked as if he knew something that no one else did. The Headmaster nodded back sagely, giving the boy time to say his goodbyes first.

"I don't suppose this world can even begin to compare to your home." Hermione mused. She looked sad for the moment, wanting nothing more than for Harry to stay, but understanding a while ago that he couldn't. Not while he had people who loved him where he came from. So all she could offer was her support. "For the record… I'm glad you came." She smiled. "Would you believe you're one of the first friends I ever had?"

"And I'm glad you have more now." Harry smiled back. "I'm also relieved that none of you seem to be pressuring me too much to stay…"

"We want nothing more but for you to stay." Hermione corrected him as the others nodded. "But… I guess we understand that there's people waiting for you back home. And…" she struggled to find the words. "We want you to be happy. I know that if you went missing… I'd want more than anything in the world to see that you were alive and unharmed."

Harry looked on wonderingly.

"Just promise us that you'll come back for visits." Lily said from where she stood, her fingers tightly laced together and buried deep in her robe. And although her eyes were melancholy, she still smiled at him. "Remember- that ring is on a lease. I still want it back… hear that, young man? Not a scratch."

"I wouldn't want to make her angry, Harry." James joked, slinging an arm around his wife. "She can get pretty scary."

Harry only grinned as he watched Lily swat at James, calling him strange names and phrases. They might not have been his real parents, no matter the fact that the DNA would match… but they were the closest to parents that he had ever gotten. 

He glanced around at the other people… at the friends he had made in this world. He had already said his goodbyes to Ron and Blaise earlier, and Draco had been placated once Harry had accepted the rune stone from him. This was a world that he would miss for sure… a place of peace despite the war that they were going through- it gave him bittersweet memories of his earlier school years. 

"I'll come visit you when I figure out how to get between here and home." He promised earnestly. "And maybe next time… I'll be able to tell you about everyone in my world."

"Harry." Professor Dumbledore's voice was kind, and the Gryffindor turned back to look at his Headmaster. "I'll take it that you understand the components of how to get back to your world?"

Harry nodded. "Just slightly, Professor."

"Then I think I can tell you the other half of what you might suspect. The ring that your mother gave you is just as important as the elemental magic that you used. The amount of magic that you wielded when you were fighting managed to rip a hole between the universes. Now I know that you haven't told us of what you were doing, though I have no doubt that you remember by now. Judging by the state you were in when you arrived, I would say that you were in an extremely dangerous battle, and with the amount of magic that you have… well, it's bound to cause some kind of disturbance.

"Your mother's ring is also indeed magical, if you have not yet noticed. I assume that because your mother wished so hard to see her son again, the wish was embedded into the ring… and when it's magic sensed the rip in the universe, and sensed you- it pulled you here, to fulfill its mistress's wish."

Everyone looked shocked at this information, Lily most of all.

"Then you mean…" she started to say, "That… it really was a _miracle_ after all?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Indeed it was, Mrs. Potter. I would believe that you were right in the first place."

"But then… to get home…"

The Headmaster turned to the shocked boy who was now clutching the said ring tightly. "To get home… you have to sincerely _want_ to go back. Because there is a reason you need to be there. And you have to harness your elemental powers again, which I don't think will be difficult for you." The old man's eyes were serious. "But you have to be _sure_. Is there something that you have to go back for? Something that gives you a reason for living?"

A vision of pale silver-blonde hair and piercing silver eyes came to him, and Harry smiled. "I'm sure."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Then it's all up to you, Harry."

With a deep breath, Harry gripped onto his necklace tightly and gave a reassuring smile to everyone else. With a softly murmured goodbye, he called up the raging heat that had been buried inside for so long, and unleashed it onto the cold exterior. Once again, the flames within him battled with the coldness that signified life and hope. Once again, the two merged together to become something completely different, and beautifully exquisite. 

And within a few seconds, Harry Potter once again disappeared from the world where his parents were alive… where his friends would miss him, and where he would always be welcomed with open arms.

  
  


End Part 10

**Authoress's Rambles:** *beams* I hope you've enjoyed this story… there's only the epilogue left. I'm sorry that this chapter seems so rushed!! I was going to delete the first two scenes, since it had no significance on the plot whatsoever, or the part where he attended the Yule Ball… but then I figured that I might do a side story to cover that later. ^_^ This is actually the end of the story if you want to end it here and are tired of reading this. The epilogue can also be counted as the prologue of the sequel… but I already said that on the top. I hope you still remember that ring that Lily had! I mentioned it a few times in the chapters where she's agitated, and always fidgeting with it. ^_~ Now you know the significance of it.   
To **Alexa Donaghy**, **Unintentional Nightmare**, **keizinathebrat**, **Jaina**, **Silver Angel**, **Jaded Green**, **marguerite**, **Sheron**, **amythest**, **T'Maia**, **Jordan**, **Mercedes**, **Fate's Child**, **frizzy**, **mandraco**, **Von**, **Jedi Cosmos**, **someonesgurl**, **sk8reagle**, **silva star**, **Semmerie**, and a special thanks to **venus4280** for such a thorough review! *beams* Thank you for all your comments, your suggestions, criticism, and encouragement! I don't think I would have made it all the way had it not been for that. LOL! I hope most of you stay for the sequel, which will be when Harry returns to his own world… but if not, thank you again for bearing with me for so long! LOL! Wow… 4 months! ^^;;

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	11. Epilogue

Disclaimers: The characters don't belong to me... but the idea does! ^_^ Ahhh, to actually own Harry and Draco.... XDDD Fantasies, fantasies. Maybe in an alternate reality.

Here's the Epilogue to the story at last! *beams* Next up will be the sequel... expect part one in about 1-2 weeks. Or maybe in less time! 

  


Into the Cold Fire  
Epilogue  
Shamera 

  
  
Draco let out a sigh that he hadn't know he was holding, and cautiously climbed into bed, keeping a tight hold on the old rune stone he was holding. He had been clutching it all night already, and was surprised that it wasn't embedded deep into his palm by now. The rune looked exactly the same as Harry's did, and nearly glowed with old magic. 

He hadn't lied when he said there were protection spells on it- he had cast every protection spell he knew on that rune, from what he had learned in school to the Dark Arts that he had subtly picked up from his father. 

His father had been the one to send the runes, saying that if he didn't want a friend to leave, then give them the stone and there was an incantation to draw one person to the other- whichever way they wanted to go. A smaller spell that was included was to alert the other if one was in extreme danger. 

But he seriously hoped that it would never be needed. 

He knew that Harry would be happy back home, with the one he loved and others who cared about him. He knew that Harry would be well protected there, because he knew himself well enough to know that no harm could ever come to Harry if he were there to stop it. 

It was so strange to think in that perspective. That there was another him somewhere… in an alternate universe- and that other him was the person whom Harry loved more than anyone else in the world. 

It was hard to describe the range of feelings he experienced with that thought. Sadness, surely, because Harry wouldn't be his, but also a sort of wonder at how the other boy had chosen him… even though it wasn't him. 

None of that was making any sense, Draco thought to himself. The whole alternate universe idea was too mind boggling to think about. 

And, he thought with a mental sigh, it meant that he now had to take care of Carnus.

It was all Harry's fault when it came down to that. The dark haired boy had asked him during the Yule Ball to take care of his snake... because Carnus was fond of Draco.

Why, oh why did he tell Harry that he liked snakes when they first met? The huge red and gold snake made him more than a little queasy, and was much too... _affectionate_ for his tastes. 

Dismissing the thought, he just reminded himself to get the large snake from Harry's parents the next day. He wanted sleep before the sun decided to come up again, and a good night's rest seemed the best way to accomplish that. 

"Say, Draco?" 

The blonde boy didn't bother to open his eyes as he gave a grunt in response. Blaise wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon, he knew. And with Vincent and Greg sleeping like logs in the beds next to them, the only entertainment Blaise would get would be from Draco. 

"Do you think Harry made it home alright?" 

Draco had his eyes closed as he replied, "I'm sure he did." 

"…Did you like Harry?" 

"We all liked Harry, Blaise. None of us wanted him to leave." 

There was a short silence. "That's not what I meant. Did you fancy him?" 

Draco managed an exasperated sigh. "Go to sleep, Blaise." 

There was another short pause. "Everyone knew that I fancied Harry… but I think he liked you. And that would have been okay… I would have been okay with it, just because I know that you're my best friend and if you do something to hurt him, I could get back at you, and if he did something to hurt you, I could get back at him." 

"Blaise…" 

"I think he should have stayed. Who knew if the person Harry loved back in his own world is good enough for him?" 

Draco only burrowed deeper into his blankets. "If he makes Harry happy, that's good enough." 

"So you _do_ fancy him!" 

"Go to _sleep_, Blaise." 

It was quiet for a few minutes before there was a soft sigh and a whisper. 

"I miss him." 

Draco finally opened his eyes, staring out into the night. He stayed that way long after Blaise fell asleep. 

  
  


He couldn't understand why every time he traveled between universes, the first thing he noticed was the fact that he had been unconscious for a while. How did he know that? Well… he was just waking up, after all. And his brain was functioning much too early, considering his thought process was more complete in this state of mind than it was when he was awake. Or that was what he thought at the moment. 

Not to mention, he could hear a soft murmuring at his side, and someone shifting uncomfortably. It sounded like the person was waiting for him to wake up, perhaps been worried about him. 

Was this it? His mind wondered. Did he get back home? 

He frowned slightly, giving the idea some consideration. His elemental abilities seemed to have worked… and the air _was_ much more stale than he had remembered. Did this mean that he was back in the war-torn world that he called home? Where Hogwarts was gone, and hope was pretty much nonexistent? 

Did it mean that he was home with… 

"Harry." The voice sounded so relieved when Harry frowned, signifying that perhaps he was close to waking up. 

Harry opened his eyes, unable to resist the call in that voice. His visage was blurry before a pair was glasses were gently settled onto his face, the prescription off by just a bit. He squinted slightly in the bright light before he realized that he was actually pretty dark, and the only light his eyes were fighting against was the dim candle by his bedside. 

He was in a small room with perhaps one door and one window. The curtains were drawn over the window, but he could still clearly make out the bright shape of the moon behind it. The room was pretty much bare except for his bed and a chair… and someone who was sitting on the chair, holding a small candle. 

Someone looking at his anxiously with worried grey eyes and a pallid complexion. 

"Draco…" his mouth involuntarily whispered, his hand coming up to feel if the image before him was not a dream, a hallucination caused by his wistful mind. 

The person before him visibly softened as he grasped Harry's hand like an anchor. This wasn't the Draco Harry had known for the last month, the boy with the easy smirk and instant comebacks. This was the Draco that he had fought and hated for years before falling so deep in love that he knew he could never escape. 

And he didn't want to. 

The Draco here looked older, if not physically then in his eyes. He was more gaunt, thinner than how Harry had remembered him. He was paler and with more scars than the other Draco. 

"You're awake." Draco's voice was hoarse, most likely from lack of sleep. As the blonde brought Harry's hand to his face, the green-eyed boy couldn't help but wonder if Draco had stayed in vigil the entire time he had been unconscious. 

"..how long?" he asked, unable to think of anything else for the moment. 

"You were gone for nearly two months." Draco explained, a hand sneaking to brush a strand of hair away from Harry's eyes. Sharp, grey eyes stared deep into his soul. "Granger found you two days ago, lying sprawled next to where Hogwarts used to be… we were so scared when you had disappeared… thought that you were dead." Pain crept into those eyes. "But it was even worse for a moment when we found you… we thought it was proof of your death. Your corpse." 

"But I'm here." Harry murmured, trying to ease the pain away from those eyes that he loved so much. 

"Yes." Draco managed a sad smile. "We found out you were only unconscious… and sent for the doctors." He leaned to brush a kiss above Harry's brow. "You're alive… you're okay." It sounded almost as if Draco were trying to convince himself of that. 

Harry closed his eyes again, enjoying the warmth of Draco close to him. "You wouldn't believe what happened to me, Drake… I was somewhere else. In another universe." His eyes opened again, this time full of wonder as he stared at the person whom he loved so much. "My parents were alive there. Hogwarts was still standing… Voldemort was there as well, but he wasn't the threat that he is here. Everything was so beautiful, so wonderful…" 

"It sounds like heaven…" Draco muttered, his distant as he stared at Harry. 

"It wasn't." Harry said. He sat up in his bed, muscles protesting every step of the way. But he kept his gaze into those silver eyes. "I missed you." 

If it were possible, Draco's eyes grew even sadder. "You came back from that place… for me?" 

Harry bit his bottom lip, wondering if he should answer. But he settled for a nod, "I told you a long time ago… that I couldn't live without you." 

Draco drew Harry into an awkward embrace. "But you shouldn't have said that… you shouldn't have come back…" 

Harry grew worried. "What are you talking about?" 

Draco breathed in the scent of Harry's hair, willing himself to calm down enough to let Harry understand. It wouldn't do to get hysterical when he knew that Harry wouldn't take the information well. He had to remain in control… so that he could help Harry understand. 

"I mean… that I'm dying." 

  
  


End Epilogue

**Authoress's Notes:** *ducks* Don't kill me! Trust me, everything _is_ all planned out, and has been planned out since chapter 3. I knew how I was going to end this before I even wrote chapter 1, which is why I said that I was going to try hard to make it a happy ending... I'm still trying! Remember- this going through Vigilae Mortuorum as well... and even into a third story. And even though I know how to end it... I'm still trying to go for a pretty happy ending. ^^;; I did say in chapter 1 that the ending was going to be sad...   
A thousand thanks to all my reviewers! *beams* I actually never expected this many people to review, but I'm extremely glad nevertheless. Also very glad that people seem to want to read the sequel. ^^;; That makes me very happy...  
To **Jennifer S**, **honeey**, **amythest**, **Silver Angel**, **frizzy**, **frabjous**, **sk8reagle**, **Fate's Child**, **Rarity88**, **Fiery Disposition**, **Jordan**, **bluevanilla**, **yumi-no-baka**, **Lyla Snape**, **Semmerie**, and **someonesgurl**!! I'm sorry if I wasn't able to answer everyone specifically, but I figured that you might want to read more of the story than my comments. LOL. Thanks especially to those who reviewed more than once, who came back and pointed out specific things or mistakes that I made, asked questions, gave encouragement (or even threats! *laughs*), and helped me through this story. Even if they thought the comment wasn't constructive *winks at **amythest***, it made me extremely happy to know that people took the time to review and come back again. Another special thanks to **tdei** for encouragement over AIM, and the person at **hematite9@aol.com** for the email.   
I hope everyone enjoyed this story and will continue to enjoy the sequel. ^_^

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